Rachel Reeves accused of ‘treachery’ if she raises taxes | Politics | News
Nigel Farage has said he could avoid imposing any tax rises in next week’s Budget if Rachel Reeves adopts Reform UK’s plan to cut spending by £25bn. The reform UK leader has made proposals to fill the Treasury’s “fiscal black hole” by deporting foreign criminals, cutting the overseas aid budget and ending most aid to foreign nationals.
Reform policy chief Zia Yusuf said Ms Reeves would be committing a “betrayal” if she increased taxes on the British people, as she called on the Chancellor to use the ideas. Mr Youssef said: “We are calling on him to make these changes and despite our pleas and holding this press conference, the reason he is likely to choose not to make them and instead choose to increase taxes on British people is because Labor has made a conscious and deliberate decision to continue to provide exorbitant amounts of funding to foreign nationals to the detriment of British nationals.
“And I don’t know what to call it. Frankly, I think it’s treason.”
The Budget proposals, which Reform says represent only a small fraction of the spending cuts it hopes to make, include capping foreign aid at £1bn each year, saving £10bn in 2025/26. Mr Farage highlighted £100 million of British funding for family planning in Pakistan as an example of plans that need to be cut.
The reform will also increase the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is paid to enable temporary migrants to contribute towards any NHS treatment they receive, from the current maximum of £1,035 to £2,718 each year.
The party will save £580 million by deporting all foreign criminals, including reducing the cost of prisons.
And Universal Credit payments to foreign nationals in the UK will end, saving £6bn a year.
In addition, Mr Farage highlighted previously announced plans to restrict Personal Independence Payments, which help people with disabilities or long-term illnesses with living costs, to a scheme to help people with anxiety problems find work.
The Reform UK leader said: “The Budget, like the last one, will be an attack on aspirations, an attack on Britain’s alarm clock, an attack on those who get up in the morning.
“This budget will do nothing for the 5.6 million very brave men and women who act as sole traders or run their own businesses, without whom the British economy would grind to a halt.
“And I think it’s safe to say that this Budget will be very good for those who don’t want to work and want to live on benefits, which is very different from a civilized society that looks after those who can’t look after themselves.
Aid agencies have condemned plans to cut the international development budget. Gideon Rabinowitz, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Bond, a UK network of non-governmental organisations, said: “Cutting the UK’s already shrinking aid budget will not fill the gap in the UK’s public finances and will only create new challenges. The UK’s aid delivers a huge return on investment: helping prevent conflict and build peace in fragile countries, tackling the spread of diseases before they reach our shores, and leading to fewer people being forced to leave their homes due to conflict and crisis.”
The Conservatives pointed to council tax increases planned by Reform-led local authorities. Kevin Hollinrake said: “You can’t trust a word the Reform one-man band says about the economy after they trashed their entire economic platform last week and broke promises not to raise council tax.”
Labor Party leader Anna Turley said Reform’s plan to cut benefits to EU citizens in the UK would trigger a “trade war” with Brussels.
