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Reform UK promises £80bn cuts to public spending

From BBC News · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Reform UK says it would cut public spending by £80 billion over five years through reductions to welfare, net-zero programs, overseas aid and the civil service.
  • Economic spokesman Robert Jenrick said the party would seek tax cuts only after gaining the markets’ trust, while Labour warned the plans could put public services at risk.
  • Reform would retain the state pension triple lock and is seeking investor views on its proposed fiscal rules as UK borrowing costs rise.

Reform UK has pledged to cut £80 billion from public spending within five years, presenting the plan at the party’s conference in Birmingham as part of an effort to establish itself as a party of fiscal discipline.

earn the trust

· Robert JenrickJenrick said Reform would need to gain financial markets’ confidence before pursuing tax cuts.

Economic spokesman Robert Jenrick said Reform would like to cut taxes in its first Budget if it wins the next election. But he said the party would first have to “earn the trust” of financial markets. He promised “big changes... in a careful way, not a cack-handed way”.

The largest reduction would come from Reform’s previously announced plan to cut £50 billion from the welfare budget. The party also says it could save £10 billion by reducing net-zero programs, £8 billion by cutting the civil service and £7.1 billion by capping the foreign-aid budget. It expects its immigration policies, including abolishing indefinite leave to remain, to produce further savings.

party of fiscal responsibility

· Robert JenrickJenrick described the identity Reform wants to establish through its spending plans.

Labour described the proposals as “incredibly reckless” and warned that hospitals, schools and law enforcement could face risks. Jenrick, who served as a health minister in 2022 when Liz Truss’s £45 billion tax plan shook market confidence, said Reform needed to “learn the lessons of Liz Truss”. He said Truss had “basically went into a sweetie shop, took everything off the shelves and stuck it into a budget”, adding that markets had reacted very negatively.

incredibly reckless and could mean vital public services like hospitals, schools and law enforcement are put at risk

· LabourLabour criticized Reform’s proposed spending reductions.

Jenrick said cutting inheritance tax would not be an immediate priority because relatively few people pay it. He also said Reform would retain the pension triple lock, which increases payments by whichever is highest among 2.5%, inflation or average earnings. The mechanism is estimated to cost £15.5 billion a year by 2030, but Jenrick said it would be unfair to cut pensions before tackling what he called waste in the public sector. He has contacted government-debt investors about meetings in London and New York to discuss fiscal rules and borrowing costs.

learn the lessons of Liz Truss

· Robert JenrickJenrick referred to the market reaction to Liz Truss’s 2022 fiscal plans.
About this summary

Originally published by BBC News. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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