A Reform government will not cut taxes until it has brought public spending under control, Nigel Farage warned today, despite previously pledging to swiftly reduce the burden on families and business by £90billion.
In its 2024 election manifesto Reform unveiled plans for its first 100 days that included cuts to stamp duty, fuel duty and energy taxes, the abolition of inheritance tax and changes to income tax thresholds.
But today Mr Farage signalled that the pace of change was likely to be slower, confirming taxes would only be cut once savings had been made to pay for it.
Speaking to the Times he said that Reform would go further with cuts to Civil Service spending outlined in the same manifesto, alongside cuts to Net Zero policies, ‘benefits for foreigners’, and tighter control over the Bank of England.
There will also be a new industrial policy and plans for ‘a cultural shift in attitudes towards work and success,’ he said, adding: ‘At the next election, we will present a rigorous and fully costed manifesto.
‘Reform will never borrow to spend, as Labour and the Tories have done for so long; instead, we will ensure savings are made before implementing tax cuts.’
And his deputy, Richard Tice said that proposals in the manifesto to raise the income tax threshold up to £20,000 were now only an ‘aspiration’.
It comes as Reform faces questions over the viability of its economic plans.
Last week Kent Council, one of the authorities it took control of in May with a pledge to cut council tax, said it was likely to instead increase it by 5 per cent.
Mr Farage is expected to give a speech outlining his policies in the coming weeks to counter attacks from both Labour and the Tories.
Mr Farage said: ‘Reform will never borrow to spend, as Labour and the Tories have done for so long; instead, we will ensure savings are made before implementing tax cuts.’
In its 2024 manifesto Reform unveiled plans for its first 100 days that included cuts to stamp duty, fuel duty and energy taxes, the abolition of IHT and changes to income tax thresholds.
Mr Tice told Times Radio today that big tax cuts would only follow savings, blaming Labour’s handling of the economy in the past 15 months.
‘A manifesto is based on a point in time. The principles behind it are absolutely rock solid,’ he said.
‘We said we’ve got to make very significant savings in order to fund a different way to run the economy.
‘What’s happened since then is that the state of the economy, because of the mismanagement by this Labour government, the numbers have got far worse. And we will be focusing relentlessly, as I’ve been saying, on the savings.’
Farage’s party ousted the Conservatives in Kent with a promise to slash what Mr he called ‘wasteful spending’.
But speaking to the Financial Times, the authority’s new adult social care chief Diane Morton was asked about a rise in its share of the tax bill, saying: ‘I think it’s going to be 5 per cent.’
The councillor said: ‘We’ve got more demand than ever before and it’s growing.’
Ms Morton added: ‘We just want more money.’
According to council papers, KCC faces a £27.9 million overspend in the new year, beyond its £1.53 billion budget.
These figures account for the period between April and June this year, either side of the May election.
A Reform UK Kent spokesman said the council has a new ‘no more borrowing’ policy since this year’s poll.
Last week Tory leader Kemi Badenoch warned Mr Farage was ‘shaking the same magic money tree’ with pledges that included easing the two-child benefit cap.
The Conservative leader said her party had to offer a better alternative to Reform and Labour rather than simply attacking them on their turf.
In her keynote speech to conference she said the party had to avoid the ‘cynical’ policies being put forward by Mr Farage and Sir Keir Starmer.
Instead she said she had adopted a new ‘golden rule’ of ‘fiscal prudence’ above all else.
Mrs Badenoch said the Conservative Party has ‘made life better for so many’ over the years and steered the country through its ‘darkest days’, as she urged the party to be ready to ‘do the same again’.
It comes after weeks in which there has been a steady drip of defections from the party to Reform, culminating last month in one of her frontbenchers, Danny Kruger, joining Mr Farage’s party.
In her only direct mention of the Reform leader in her hour-long speech, Mrs Badenoch said: ‘Whether it’s Starmer, Farage, Corbyn or Davey all these men are shaking the same magic money tree…
‘More government, more taxes, more debt. It’s irresponsible, it’s cynical, and it’s why Britain needs Conservatives back in charge.
But we can’t beat them, simply by attacking them. As George Bernard Shaw said: ”Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.”
‘We have to offer something better.’
A Labour Party spokesman said: ‘Nigel Farage has finally admitted what everyone already knew: Reform’s economic plans are built on sand.’
