STORY
Reform UK has set out proposals which it says would reduce public spending by more than £100 billion following a general election victory. Shadow Chancellor Robert Jenrick said an emergency Budget would be introduced during the party’s first 100 days in office, with the savings used to support reductions in taxation.
The plans include a stated ambition to remove £50 billion from welfare spending and between £20 billion and £30 billion from departmental budgets. Reform also anticipates £28 billion in lower debt interest costs, while proposing reductions in spending associated with net zero policies, overseas aid and arm’s-length public bodies.
Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson described the proposals as reckless and questioned how cuts of that scale could be delivered without damaging public services. The figures are expected to face further scrutiny over their assumptions, the timescale for achieving them and the consequences for people receiving disability and other welfare payments