Reform UK launches 2024 ’Contract With The People’
Earlier today, recently (re)crowned Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage unveiled the party’s “contract with the people” or– as you and I might call it – a manifesto. The launch comes after Farage’s decision to take the reins of the party once more gave them a significant boost in the polls. This includes last week’s YouGov survey showing the party one point ahead of the Conservatives for the first time, adding another layer of angst to the Tory’s ongoing psycho-drama.
The “contract” reads like a bingo card of Mr Farage’s pet peeves from scrapping net zero targets, banning ‘transgender ideology’, and introducing a so-called patriotic curriculum. After all, he knows that he will never have the opportunity to put these into effect, so there is no need to consider such trivial things as practicalities. To nobody’s surprise, the party majored on its four-point plan for immigration including: leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, allowing zero illegal immigrants to settle in the UK, establishing a new “Department of Immigration”, and returning migrants who come over in boats to France. A “freeze” on non-essential immigration “to protect our culture and identity” is also proposed in the first few pages.
As Farage himself has all but admitted, Reform’s polling is unlikely to translate into a high number of seats thanks to the UK’s ‘first past the post’ voting system. The real question is whether the “contract” attracts more voters who find themselves disillusioned with the current Conservative Party, and further chips into their already waning vote share. Mr Farage has been clear that he has his eyes on a bigger prize than the Clacton seat he is contesting, indicating (helpfully as ever) that he would be willing to lead a merged Reform-Conservative party following the election.
As always with Mr Farage, what was set out today, then, should be analysed and assessed more for its impact on thefuture direction and ideological inclination of the Conservatives, rather than as any kind of serious, costed manifesto– sorry, contract – or coherent platform for governing.
The full Reform UK ‘Contract’ manifesto can be found here. Key pledges include:
Immigration
▪ Strict limits on immigration, freezing ‘non-essential’ immigration with an exception to those providing ‘essential skills’, mainly in healthcare.
▪ Take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights and establish a Department of Immigration, ensuring zero illegal immigrants are resettled in the UK, with asylum seekers being processed offshore if necessary.
▪ Barring those entering from safe countries from claiming asylum or citizenship with no legal aid for non-citizens.
▪ Deport foreign nationals immediately after their prison sentence ends and withdraw citizenship from immigrants who commit crime with the exception of some misdemeanour offences.
▪ Bar dependents from international student visas, closing ‘fake’ courses and immigration schemes that abuse the rules.
▪ Impose a requirement of 5-year residency and employment to claim any benefits in the UK.
▪ Raise the National Insurance rate to 20% for foreign workers excluding essential foreign health and care workers.
Constitutional and Political Reform
▪ Introduce Proportional Representation voting for the House of Commons.
▪ Reform the Human Rights Act so that it ‘puts the rights of law-abiding people first.’
▪ Replace the House of Lords with a smaller, more democratic second chamber with immediate end of political appointments.
▪ Replace Civil Service leaders with successful professionals from the private sector who are political appointees.
▪ Stop postal voting except for the elderly, disabled or those who can’t leave their home.
▪ Create a British Bill of Rights, with freedoms codified and guaranteed.
▪ Replace the 2010 Equalities Act and scrap all Diversity, Equality and Inclusion rules that have ‘lowered standards'.
▪ Legislate for a Comprehensive Free Speech Bill to ‘stop left-wing bias’.
▪ Reform the BBC and scrap the TV licence.
▪ Create an Anti-Corruption Unit for Westminster with legal powers to investigate past and future scandals.
Government Spending
▪ Stop the Bank of England paying interest to Commercial Banks on QE Reserves.
▪ Introduce cuts of up to 5% to every department budget to slash ‘wasteful spending’ without touching frontline services.
▪ Cut ‘unnecessary’ regulation, targeting the 6,700 EU laws that Britain retains.
▪ Cut the Foreign Aid budget by £6bn or 50% with a major review of effectiveness of overseas aid.
▪ Improve HMRC competence to collect billions in unpaid tax.
The Economy
▪ Lift the income tax start point to £20,000 per year and increase the higher rate of tax to begin at £70,000.
▪ Reduce the main Corporation Tax Rate from 25% to 20%, then to 15% from Year 3.
▪ Lower fuel duty by 20p per litre for both residential and business users, scrapping VAT on energy bills and environmental levies.
▪ Lift the VAT Threshold to £150,000.▪ Simplify the taxation system and significantly reduce the tax code.
▪ Cut Stamp Duty to 0% below £750,000. Cut it to 2% from £750,000 - £1.5m and 4% over £1.5m.
▪ Abolish Business Rates for high street based SMEs and introduce an Online Delivery Tax of 4% for large, multinational enterprises. Cut entrepreneurs’ tax to 5%.
▪ Abolish Inheritance Tax for all estates under £2m, with the rate above £2m taxed at 20% and the option to donate to charity instead.
▪ Reverse the exemption of tourist shopping from the VAT refund scheme.
Health and Social Care
▪ All frontline NHS and social care staff to pay zero basic rate tax for three years.
▪ End training caps for all UK medical students and write off student fees pro rata per year over 10 years of NHS service for all doctors, nurses and medical staff.
▪ Tax Relief of 20% on all Private Healthcare and Insurance to grow independent healthcare capacity and ‘provide competition and reduce costs.’
▪ NHS Patients to receive a voucher for private treatment if they can’t see a GP within three days, a consultant within three weeks or an operation in nine weeks.
▪ Operating theatres to open on weekends, plan rotas further in advance and review all NHS Private Finance Contracts for ‘significant savings potential’.
▪ Charge those who fail to attend medical appointments without notice.
▪ Offer tax incentives to new pharmacies and those who employ more staff to assist in relieving pressure on A&E.
▪ Establish an Excess Deaths and Vaccine Harms Public Inquiry.
Energy and Environment
▪ Scrap Net Zero and related subsidies including £10bn renewable energy subsidies through equivalent taxes on them.
▪ Fast-track licences of North Sea gas and oil and grant shale gas licences on test sites for two years.
▪ Fast-track clean nuclear energy with new Small Modular Reactors, built in Britain.
▪ Increase and incentivise ethical UK lithium mining for electric batteries, combined cycle gas turbines clean synthetic fuel, tidal power and explore clean coal mining.
Farming and Fishing
▪ Increase the Farming Budget to £3bn and scrap climate-related farming subsidies, replacing them with direct payments. Stop Natural England from ‘taking action that damages farmers’.
▪ Target 70% to ensure food security with taxpayer funded organisations sourcing 75% of their food from theUK.
▪ End automatic access to UK waters with every foreign fishing vessel to pay for a licence to gain access to the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
▪ Ban Foreign Supertrawlers from UK waters.
▪ Implement a ‘dynamic management system’ to guarantee sustainable stocks.
Policing & Judicial Reform
▪ Increase UK front line police officers by 40,000, or to 200 per 100,000 population per capita, over a five-year parliament.
▪ Increase Stop and Search substantially and introduce mandatory life imprisonment for drug dealing and trafficking. New offence of Substantial Possession of Drugs will meet heavy fines.
▪ Sack Chief Constables who allow ‘two-tier’ policing and give preference to ex-military officers and personnel for police leadership and recruitment.
▪ Insure high standards of fitness and presentation for frontline officers.
▪ Scrap all Diversity, Equality and Inclusion roles and overhaul the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) so that the police complaints system becomes ‘more accountable’.
▪ Urgent sentencing review with automatic Life Imprisonment for violent repeat offenders.
▪ Increase the criminal justice budget from £10bn to £12bn and reopen local magistrates’ courts to clear thecase backlog.
▪ Expand capacity of state built and managed prisons to 10,000 new detention places, using disused military bases if needed.
▪ Deport offenders holding dual citizenship.
▪ Change the definition of hate crime away from a ‘perception’ based definition.
Education
▪ Introduce a ‘patriotic curriculum’ to primary and secondary schools with history and social science curriculumto be reviewed and audited regularly to ensure balance.
▪ Ban ‘transgender ideology’ in primary and secondary schools and inform parents of under 16s about theirchildren’s life decisions. Ensure schools have single sex facilities.
▪ Tax relief of 20% on all Independent Education with no VAT on school fees.
▪ Permanent exclusions for violent and disruptive students, doubling the number of Pupil Referral Units so schools can function safely.
▪ Scrap interest on student loans and extend loan capital repayment periods to 45 years. Restrict undergraduate numbers and enforce minimum entry standards.
▪ Ensure Universities provide the option of two-year undergraduate courses.
Children and Families
▪ Introduce a UK 25% transferable marriage tax allowance meaning no tax on the first £25,000 of income for either spouse.
▪ Front-loading the Child Benefit system for children aged 1-4 giving parents the choice to spend more time with their children.
▪ Mandate single sex spaces in public toilets and changing areas.
▪ Review the Online Safety Bill and launch an inquiry into social media harms.
Work and Pensions
▪ Reform benefit support and training with a focus on 16–34-year-olds, ‘motivating up to 2 million people back to work’.
▪ Tax relief for businesses that undertake apprenticeships.
▪ Make those fit to work find employment within four months or accept a job after 2 offers, withdrawing benefits if not.
▪ Ensuring all Personal Independent Payment and Work Capability Assessments are face to face with independent medical assessments to prove eligibility.
▪ Commence Royal Commission of Inquiry into Social Care System, simplifying social care through a single funding stream.
▪ Review Pension Provision and emulate the system of countries like Australia.
Defence
▪ Increase Defence Spending to 2.5% of National GDP by year three and then 3% within six years.
▪ Recruit 30,000 for the army.
▪ Launch a Joint Acquisition Corp to ensure world class procurement and introduce incentives and tax breaks to boost the UK defence industry.
▪ Introduce an urgent pay review and increase basic pay across the armed forces to ‘boost recruitment and retention’.
▪ Introduce an Armed Forces Justice Bill to protect servicemen and women on active duty from civil law and human rights lawyers. Create an armed forces watchdog to fast-track complaints and appeals in housing and welfare.
▪ Establish a Ministerial Department for Veterans to ‘guarantee no veteran goes without’.
▪ Expand Royal Navy Overseas Patrol Squadron to police Britain’s 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone properly.
Housing and Local Government
▪ Review the Planning System and fast-track planning and tax incentives for development of brownfield sites.
▪ Prioritise local people and those who have paid into the system for social housing law with foreign nationals at the ‘back of the queue’.
▪ Abolish the Renters’ (Reform) Bill and scrap section 24 for landlords
Transport
▪ Scrap HS2 to ‘save £25bn’.
▪ Legislate to ban ULEZ Clean Air Zones and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods as well as 20MPH zones.
▪ Launch a new model that brings 50% of each utility into public ownership with the other 50% owned by UK pension funds with tighter regulation on ownership of Critical National Infrastructure.
▪ Overhaul and merge the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure Bank.