Robert Jenrick reveals Reform’s plan to make UK economy great again | Politics | News
Reform Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick (Image: Getty)
Robert Jenrick has vowed to “re-industrialize” Britain by lowering the cost of energy to help the country’s key industries. Reformation’s “shadow chancellor” told the Express: “We are losing our steel, our car manufacturing, our glass, our ceramics, our chemical industries. There are millions of good jobs that rely on these industries and they will not survive if our energy prices continue to be five or six times higher than the US.”
He said the reform government would also aim to save “tens of billions of pounds” by cutting waste, a net-zero subsidy and spending on refugees, with the revenues to be used in part for tax cuts. Former Conservative Party minister Mr Jenrick became the biggest reform defector to date, switching to Nigel Farage’s party in January. He has since been named Mr Farage’s candidate for Chancellor.
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The Nottinghamshire MP insisted he felt immediately at home, saying: “I really enjoyed working with Nigel. He’s so energetic and has real belief.”
The government plan includes working closely with Richard Tice, who if Reform comes to power would lead an expanded business, trade and energy department, undermining the “green” policies championed by Labor Energy Minister Ed Miliband and expanding the use of nuclear power and fossil fuels from the North Sea.
Mr Jenrick said: “We will definitely kill the net zero craze, that’s for sure.
“This is impoverishing people and deindustrializing our country.
“A Reform government will have one simple goal for our energy policy, and that is energy abundance.
“We want cheap, reliable energy for consumers and businesses who are finding life difficult right now, so we can re-industrialise.”
Reform is often portrayed as a right-wing party, but at least their positions on economics are more nuanced than that and they are not committed to free market economics. Mr Jenrick said Reform would intervene to protect “strategic industries” if necessary.
“We see the connection between economy and security. There are some strategic industries that we need to ensure we protect and set a course for future success. Steel is one of them.”
“But we will be very careful in the way we intervene. We do not believe in picking winners or a return to the industrial strategy of the 1970s. But most successful economies today have an industrial strategy, whether it is Singapore, the US or others.”
“And the state has a role to work with these industries.”
The Covid crisis has contributed to the escalation of the UK’s massive public sector debt of £2,923.7 billion, which has left Chancellor Rachel Reeves with little room for manoeuvre; but Reform argues that its decisions have made the situation of public finances worse.
Mr Jenrick insists he can find money to spend, including removing “net zero” subsidies for heat pumps and electric vehicles and reducing the cost of the asylum system.
He said: “We must reduce waste. Billions and billions of pounds are now being wasted on priorities that are not the priorities of the British people.”
“We spend billions of dollars on welfare for immigrants. Billions of dollars on hotels for illegal immigrants. We spend billions on net-zero subsidies.”
He said reform had already identified £13 billion that could be saved from Ed Milliband’s energy department. He continued: “And that’s going to be tens of billions of pounds in the next Parliament. So if we can find those savings, if we can make those tough decisions, then yes we can reduce people’s bills, we can cut taxes responsibly and we can invest in the real priorities of the British people.”
