Farage makes his pitch to non-doms
Reform UK are on the rise – quite literally. The party is planning to move one floor up in their headquarters at Millbank Tower, giving its 40-odd staff a commanding view of Westminster from their office. That change in circumstance was reflected in Nigel Farage's speech this morning, when he strolled in to Westminster's Church House to set out his party's pitch to non-doms.
The Clacton MP told journalists that 'tens of thousands' of people would be tempted to the UK by the offer of the card
The party's headline announcement today was the launch of a new 'Britannia card'. This would be a one-off £250,000 fee which would allow non-doms – UK residents whose permanent home for tax purposes is outside the UK – to avoid income tax. The Clacton MP told journalists that 'tens of thousands' of people would be tempted to the UK by the offer of the card, with the one-off payment representing 'just the tip of the iceberg of what these people will pay if they come back' in stamp duty and VAT in the UK. The party estimates its policy would raise between £1.5billion to £2.5billion annually, which would be redistributed to the poorest ten per cent of workers.
Some referred to this as a 'Robin Hood' policy; but Disraeli is perhaps a better comparison. The presence at the speech of Nick Candy, multimillionaire property developer and the party's honorary treasurer, demonstrates that Reform UK hardly see the rich as enemies of the poor. Farage's argument is that it is necessary to create a 'transparent link' between the social classes and restore the 'social contract' which exists between them. Under a Reform UK government, 'every wealthy individual who wishes to move here makes a tangible contribution to Britain's lowest earners,' said Farage.
The questions, inevitably, were dominated by Iran. No Foreign Office-style flim-flam here; Farage insisted that the Israel and the US were 'right' to try to destroy Tehran's nuclear capacity. Noting his history of opposing regime change in Libya and Iraq, Farage argued it was 'difficult to see' what could be 'worse' than the current 'evil' Ayatollah. Asked whether he supported the UK joining military action in Iran, Farage said: 'I doubt they are going to ask for our help but they could do with our support.' For good measure, he accused Richard Hermer, the Attorney General, of 'bordering on treacherous' for his legal advice on the future of the Diego Garcia military base.
Overall, it was a pitch aimed squarely at a very different type of regime change: toppling the Tories as the primary opposition to Labour by the next election in 2029.
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