Nigel Farage claims Keir Starmer's attacks on his economic plans are 'Project Fear 2.0' as Reform leader faces questions over £85bn cost of 'fantasy' policies

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

Under-pressure Nigel Farage hit back at Sir Keir Starmer and other critics of his economic policies today as he was accused of having 'fantasy' policies.
The Reform UK leader reheated one of his attacks from the 2016 EU referendum campaign as he accused the Prime Minister of launching 'Project Fear 2.0' by suggesting he was economically akin to Liz Truss.
Sir Keir this morning warned voters they cannot trust Mr Farage with their 'future, mortgages or jobs' in a speech deriding his economic literacy.
The Prime Minister joined the Tories in questioning Reform's maths after it unveiled plans for a spending splurge if it wins the 2029 election.
Mr Farage has sought to woo working class Labour voters by leaning left with support for scrapping the two-child benefit cap and fully reinstating winter fuel payments.
But he simultaneously backs a series of tax cuts, which left experts at the Institute for Fiscal Studies saying there could be an £85billion hole in their plans.
That would dwarfs the £45billion of unfunded tax cuts announced by former Tory Prime Minister Liz Truss in her disastrous 2022 mini-Budget.
Speaking in Warrington Sir Keir said: 'He set out economic plans which contains billions upon billions of completely unfunded spending. Precisely the sort of irresponsible splurge that sent your mortgage costs, your bills and the cost of living through the roof. It's Liz Truss all over again.'
But tweeting from Las Vegas, where he is speaking at a conference to promote bitcoin, Mr Farage accused him of 'resorting to dirty tricks borrowed from the 2016 referendum campaign to attack me', adding: 'This is Project Fear 2.0.'
The Prime Minister joined the Tories in taking aim at Mr Farage's economic literacy today after he unveiled plans for an £85billion spending splurge if Reform wins power.
However, even Reform supporters raised eyebrows as the cost of the package announced by Mr Farage.
Commentator Tim Montgomerie, founder of the Con Home political website, said: 'The sums don't add up.'
Reform wants to raise the tax-free income allowance to £20,000 and pledged a transferable marriage tax allowance if his party wins the next election, aimed at incentivising marriage and encouraging people to have more children by making it more affordable.
It would exempt one spouse from paying any tax on the first £25,000 of their income, as revealed by the Mail.
Speaking at an event at a business in north-west England, the Prime Minister said Mr Farage would not have protected jobs in industries subject to tariffs from the US, and compared him to Ms Truss.
Sir Keir said: 'We protected those jobs. Would Nigel Farage have done the same? Absolutely not.'
Mr Farage insisted the pledges were 'credible' and could be paid for by scrapping the Net Zero agenda, which he claimed was costing £45billion a year.
Mr Farage praised Liz Truss's mini-Budget in 2022 - which triggered a market meltdown.
He said an extra £4billion annually could be saved from ditching accommodation for asylum seekers by deporting them and £7billion by ending the public sector's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) drive.
A further £65billion could be saved over five years by cutting quango bureaucracy by 5 per cent, he added, giving an average saving of £69billion annually overall.
But experts said raising the basic rate of income tax threshold to £20,000 could alone cost up to £80billion.
At present, workers pay the 20 per cent rate of income tax on everything between £12,570 and £50,270. Lifting the two-child benefit cap would cost an extra £3.5billion and reinstating the winter fuel allowance £1.5billion.
The eagerly anticipated speech was the most policy-heavy since Reform won four million votes and five seats last July.
The Conservatives last night branded the package 'fantasy' economics and 'Corbynism in a different colour' because of the 'billions in unfunded commitments'.
Asked if he had a 'magic money tree', Mr Farage admitted his sums were 'slightly optimistic' but added: 'We can't afford Net Zero, it's destroying the country; we can't afford DEI, it's actually preventing many talented people from succeeding; and we certainly can't afford young undocumented males crossing the English Channel and living in five-star hotels.
'You can argue about numbers adding up. You can probably argue that at no point in the history of any form of government has anybody ever thought the numbers added up.'
The Conservatives last night branded the package 'fantasy' economics and 'Corbynism in a different colour' because of the 'billions in unfunded commitments'.