STORY
Reform UK has announced that it would replace the United Kingdom’s GDPR data protection framework and abandon the requirement for all new cars and vans to be zero emission by 2035. The party presented the proposals as part of a wider plan to reduce regulation and lower costs for businesses.
The party also said it would reverse the increase in employers’ National Insurance introduced by the Labour Government in 2024 and remove income tax from qualifying overtime payments. Reform has argued that its measures would encourage businesses to employ more people and reward those working additional hours, although questions remain about the cost of the proposed tax reductions and the system that would be required to distinguish overtime from ordinary earnings.
Labour said removing GDPR would weaken protections for people’s private information, while the Conservatives described Reform’s announcements as insufficiently developed. Any replacement for the existing data protection system would also need to address whether the European Union would continue recognising British standards as adequate for the transfer of personal data. Reform said current regulations placed unnecessary burdens on employers and that it would introduce a less restrictive domestic framework.