Britain can't afford another spendthrift chancer in Downing Street
Never one to downplay his ambitions, Farage couched his speech in civilisational terms. The UK's collapsing birth rate represents 'an existential crisis for our country'; Reform will 'do everything in its power to encourage British people who are able and want kids to have them'. Yes, he admitted, it will all be a little expensive. But isn't it worth it to get Britain bonking?Farage has alighted upon a grim fiscal dilemma. Spending on the elderly is surging just as the old-age dependency ratio – the number of potential workers per pensioner – is collapsing. Without more babies, Britain's economy will become even more dependent on human quantitative easing – the mass importation of migrant workers to fill the human shortfall. That is an outcome that few Reform voters would greet with enthusiasm, even if they were staffing their care homes.Yet Farage's solutions are just as shallow as last year's manifesto's. Evidence suggests that the two-child limit hasn't reduced birth rates. Questions as to how this largesse would be funded cued Farage's usual waffle about scrapping migrant hotels, net zero and DEI. Sounds splendid. But will tearing down a few pride flags really fund the £50 billion plus blackhole these policies would create? Rather than break from the past, Reform would only hasten our rush towards national bankruptcy.Farage is a useful tribune – a lightning rod for the frustrations of voters fed up with both old parties. But on today's evidence, he has a long way to go before he has a serious plan for government. Britain can't afford another spendthrift chancer in Downing Street. If Farage really is serious about tackling our existential challenges, he needs better policies than this.
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