Reform UK has published the headline numbers behind its alternative Budget. It proposes £40bn of what it calls emergency cuts, including £18bn to raise the tax-free personal allowance from £12,570 to £15,000, PA reports via Press News Agency and Brit Brief. The full plan, which Reform calls its 'teal paper', is due on Monday 26 October.
Robert Jenrick, Reform's Treasury spokesman, said: "Britain is broke. We need emergency spending cuts so we can give families and businesses tax relief." Reform describes him as Nigel Farage's pick as Chancellor.
Reform's breakdown of the £40bn:
- £20bn from welfare
- £8bn from net zero subsidies
- £6bn from foreign aid
- £3bn from student loans
- £2bn from quangos and the civil service
- £1bn raised from the immigration health surcharge
The cuts themselves come to £39bn. The total reaches £40bn only if the £1bn of extra revenue from the surcharge is counted as a saving.
Jenrick says the higher allowance would "leave the average household £1,000 better off". Reform separately claims £1,300 in tax relief per household and does not explain the difference between the two figures. The £18bn cost and both household figures are Reform's own and have not been independently costed.
Reform also wants £250 off energy bills, the planned fuel duty rise scrapped and savings put towards defence.