The Chancellor could avoid any tax rises if she adopts Reform UK’s plan to slash spending by £25 billion, says Nigel Farage
Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Nigel Farage (Image: PA)
Rachel Reeves could avoid imposing any tax hikes in next week’s Budget if she adopts Reform UK’s plan to slash spending by £25 billion, Nigel Farage said. The Reform UK leader set out proposals to fill the Treasury’s “fiscal black hole” by deporting foreign criminals, cutting the overseas aid Budget and ending most benefits for foreign nationals.
He invited the Chancellor to use the ideas, while Reform policy chief Zia Yusuf said Ms Reeves would be committing “treachery” if she raised taxes on British people instead. Mr Yusuf said: “We urge her to make these changes and the fact that, despite us doing this press conference and our pleas, the likelihood she will choose not to do those things and instead choose to raise taxes on British people is because Labour is making the conscious and deliberate decision to continue funding extortionate amounts to foreign nationals, to the detriment of British citizens.
“And I don’t know what to call that. Frankly, I think it’s treachery.”
The Budget proposals, which Reform said represent just a small part of the spending cuts it hopes to make, include capping foreign aid at £1 billion each year, saving £10 billion in 2025/26. Mr Farage highlighted British funding of £100 million for family planning in Pakistan as an example of schemes that should be cut.
Reform would also increase the Immigration Health Surcharge, paid by temporary migrants to ensure they contribute towards any NHS treatment they receive, from a current maximum of £1,035 each year to £2,718.
The party would deport all foreign criminals, saving £580 million including by reducing the cost of prisons.
And it would end Universal Credit payments to foreign nationals in the UK, saving £6 billion annually.
In addition, Mr Farage highlighted plans previously announced to limit Personal Independence Payments, which help people with disabilities or long-term illnesses with living costs, with a programme to help people with anxiety issues get jobs.
The Reform UK leader said: “The Budget, like the last one, will be an attack on aspiration, an attack on alarm clock Britain, an attack on those who get up in the morning.
“This budget will do nothing for the 5.6 million very brave men and women who act as sole traders or run their own business, without which the British economy would grind to a halt.
“And I think we can say with some confidence that this Budget will be very good for those who don’t want to work and want to live on benefits, which is very different to a civilised society looking after those that are unable to look after themselves.
Aid organisations condemned plans to cut the international development budget. Gideon Rabinowitz, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Bond, the UK network of non-governmental organisations, said: “Cutting the already-diminished UK aid budget will not fill the hole in the UK’s public finances and only create new challenges. UK aid brings a huge return on investment: it helps to prevent conflict and build peace in fragile countries, fights the spread of diseases before they reach our shores, and leads to fewer people forced to flee their homes due to conflict and crisis.”
Conservatives highlighted council tax increases planned by Reform-led local authorities. Kevin Hollinrake said: “After junking their entire economic platform last week and breaking their promises not to raise council tax, you can’t trust a word the Reform one man band says on the economy.”
Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said Reform’s plan to cut benefits for EU nationals in the UK would spark a “trade war” with Brussels.
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