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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nigel Farage accused of ‘fantasy promises' with expensive policy pledges
Nigel Farage has been accused of leaving a multibillion-pound black hole at the heart of his party's spending plans after unveiling a series of expensive policy pledges to be paid for by cutting nonexistent items of government spending. The Reform UK leader laid out a series of economic promises at a speech on Tuesday designed to take advantage of disquiet among Labour voters at the government's policies on taxes and benefits. But while Farage promised up to £80bn worth of new spending – including scrapping the two-child benefit cap and increasing winter fuel payments – he did not explain exactly how they could be paid for. Helen Miller, the deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: 'The risk is that we hear much more about sizeable giveaways on tax and benefits while getting nothing like the same amount of specificity about the big cuts to spending on public services that would be needed for the plan to be implementable.' One of Farage's main revenue-raising policies is to scrap the government's commitment to reaching net zero by 2050, which he said would save £45bn a year, citing calculations by the Institute for Government (IfG). But Jill Rutter, a senior fellow at the IfG, said the Reform leader had used a figure that included both public sector and private sector investment. 'The bulk of spending on energy infrastructure is going to come from the private sector – but closing private sector projects won't generate money for the government,' she said. Labour accused Reform of making 'fantasy promises', while the Liberal Democrats called his speech 'Trussonomics on steroids'. The Climate Change Committee says net zero will require investment of £26bn a year, more than two-thirds of which will be provided by the private sector. That will be offset, however, by about £22bn a year of savings the policy will enable. Tim Montgomerie, a political commentator and Reform supporter, told the BBC: 'I wouldn't say the numbers do add up yet, I readily concede that.' He said it was too far away from the election to demand the party deliver a fully costed policy platform. Farage himself admitted his sums might not add up, but insisted they gave 'an idea of direction, policy, of priorities, of what we think is important, of what we think it is going to cost'. The Reform leader set out his latest policy pledges during a speech in central London at which he made three main policy announcements: ending the two-child benefit cap, reversing the cuts to winter fuel payments and increasing tax breaks for married couples. He refused, however, to guarantee keeping the pensions triple lock, which ensures the state pension rises by the highest of inflation, earnings growth or 2.5% a year. The IFS calculated that when added to a separate promise to increase the threshold at which people start paying income taxes to £20,000, the policies could cost between £50bn and £80bn a year. Related: Watch Labour's flip-flopping on winter fuel and benefits, and you'll see who's really considered important | Frances Ryan Farage said his policies were in part about fairness, but also designed to encourage families to have more children, a social policy frequently espoused on the right. 'We believe lifting the two-child cap is the best thing to do, not because we support a benefits culture but because we believe for lower-paid workers this actually makes having children just a little bit easier for them,' he said. He also promised more generous tax breaks for married people should he win the next election, saying he would raise the amount of tax-free allowance that someone can transfer to their spouse from £1,260 to £5,000. He added that he wanted more stringent controls on abortion as well. 'I think it's ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous, that we can allow abortion up to 24 weeks, and yet, if a child is born prematurely at 22 weeks, your local hospital will move heaven and earth and probably succeed in that child surviving and going on and living a normal life,' he said.
The National
27-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Experts debunk Nigel Farage claim that scrapping net zero would save £40bn a year
The Reform UK leader claimed that abandoning climate-friendly government policies would help fund his party's commitments to ending the two-child benefit cap and bringing back the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners. But his promises have been put under scrutiny, with one former Treasury civil servant saying the UK Government was spending 'nothing on [the] scale' claimed by Farage. His figures appeared to come from a 2021 report by the Institute for Government (IfG), which was citing numbers by the Climate Change Committee. Jill Rutter, who worked in senior positions at the Treasury during a 19-year career before joining the IfG as a senior fellow, questioned Farage's claims. READ MORE: Nigel Farage accuses Anas Sarwar of 'sectarianism' as he doubles down on 'racist' ad In a post on Bluesky, Rutter said the 2021 report had argued that investment, both from the public and private sector, to around £5bn per year by the end of the decade to meet the previous government's 'slightly less ambitious' net zero targets. She added: 'Remember all those rows about Labour saying it would up spending to £28bn a year? 'Scaled back well before the election. So far we have seen bits of govt spend (GB Energy/[carbon capture and storage] and green hydrogen) but nothing on this scale.' Elsewhere, Alex Sissons, who works on policies to reduce carbon emissions at the research charity Nesta, suggested Farage had inflated the costs of net zero policies. He said that according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's most recent accounts £1bn had been spent by the department on 'taking action on climate change'.
The Guardian
09-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
UK needs annual migration plan to end incoherent policies, says thinktank
Ministers should introduce an annual migration plan to put an end to decades of 'incoherent, disconnected and unpredictable' policies around work visas, according to a Whitehall thinktank. The Institute for Government (IfG) said that successive governments have put forward 'reactive, kneejerk policies' formulated when politicians have been questioned by broadcasters over net migration figures. According to a report released on Thursday, a migration plan could be launched by the prime minister and home secretary. Similar to a spending review, it could be published as a public government document, debated in parliament, and be subjected to select committee scrutiny. The suggestion comes as the government prepares to release an immigration white paper, while facing competing demands for lower overall migration and more visas from businesses, the NHS, universities and social care. Reports earlier this week claimed that the white paper was delayed following rows between the Home Office and education ministers over proposed student numbers. The Home Office has tended to focus on limiting migration. For other departments – including the Treasury, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Business and Trade – migration is an economic lever with which to secure workforces and promote exports. Sachin Savur, IfG researcher and author of the report, said: 'For too long, governments have failed to set out what aims they have for migration policy and a realistic route to achieve them. 'They have been tempted to make kneejerk changes in response to net migration and labour market statistics. 'Adopting an annual migration plan would allow ministers to get on the front foot and set out a genuinely cross-government agenda for immigration that takes into account the government's wider priorities, evidence and interests.' Net migration – the measure for the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country – hit a record high of 906,000 in June 2023, in a period covering the premierships of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. The figures prompted dismay and allegations that the Tories had failed to 'take back control' of the UK's borders following Brexit. According to the report, an annual plan would give the government's immigration policy credibility by: Allowing for a more honest assessment about the pros and cons of migration. Ending the antagonistic relationship between the Home Office and other departments. Creating a more coordinated approach that weighs up interests and evidence across government to produce a collectively agreed strategy. Ensuring a predictable approach to developing policy which gives certainty to employers, universities and trade associations. An arbitrary annual cap on net migration would be impractical, but more specific targets, set by route, could be more realistic if an annual plan was implemented, the IfG said. The Home Office has been approached for a comment.
