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Reform UK has unveiled a key policy pledge to raise the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000 if the party secures victory in the forthcoming general election. Robert Jenrick, the party’s economic spokesperson, has committed to implementing this tax cut within the first 100 days of taking office as chancellor, emphasizing that it would put “money that people really need right now” back into their pockets. Reform insiders regard this announcement as the centerpiece of their conference and potentially the most significant tax-related policy they will advance ahead of the election.
Amidst this policy announcement, the party faces scrutiny following a Channel 4 News undercover investigation. Two senior Reform UK officials—Dan Jukes, Nigel Farage’s senior aide, and James Orr, the party’s head of policy—were filmed suggesting methods to circumvent electoral law for securing foreign donations, with one potential contribution estimated at £500,000. According to electoral regulations, donors to UK political parties must be UK-registered voters or companies incorporated in the UK. Nigel Farage responded to the allegations by stating the party “had done nothing wrong” and that no money had actually been received. Meanwhile, Jukes has denied any misconduct and announced his temporary withdrawal from politics to “clear my name,” while Orr, who holds the position of associate professor of Philosophy of Religion at Cambridge University, pledged full cooperation with the party’s ongoing internal inquiry. Cambridge University confirmed it was “looking into these matters.”
Reform UK predicts that increasing the personal allowance by £2,430 would result in average annual savings of £500 for most taxpayers and exempt 2.9 million people from paying income tax altogether. The party estimates the initial cost of this adjustment to be £17.7 billion in the first year, growing to £21 billion by year five. To fund this, Reform plans to realize £80 billion in public spending cuts. Jenrick explained to BBC Breakfast that the policy would be financed by “cutting out the waste.” The party’s proposed reductions include a £50 billion decrease in welfare spending, though half of the £353 billion welfare budget—which is allocated toward state pensions—would remain unaffected.
The majority of savings are expected to come from welfare reforms, including stopping benefits payments to non-British citizens and focusing on helping individuals with mental health issues re-enter the workforce. Additionally, Jenrick indicated that foreign aid to wealthier nations would be curtailed, stating, “we should be looking after British people first,” although disaster relief funding would still be maintained. Reform UK also intends to save £10 billion by eliminating net-zero climate programmes, arguing the UK’s share of global emissions is only 1%, making aggressive decarbonization economically harmful at home. Further plans include £8 billion in savings from cutting civil service numbers and £7.1 billion through capping foreign aid expenditures. Jenrick is expected to present this tax policy formally at the party conference, focusing on boosting the financial wellbeing of British workers.
The party criticizes the current freeze on the personal allowance, which has remained at £12,570 since 2021 and is set to stay unchanged until 2031 under Labour’s stewardship. Jenrick highlighted the impact of this freeze, saying it has pushed 1.3 million people into paying tax and unfairly started taxing state pensions, which he called “a disgrace.” While Reform’s medium-term target is to raise the threshold to £20,000, this will take time to implement. The personal allowance threshold currently reduces by £1 for every £2 earned above £100,000. Around the same period, Andy Burnham, shortly after becoming Prime Minister, expressed awareness of frustrations about the allowance freeze in his constituency and acknowledged that while the issue would be examined in the upcoming Budget, any changes would be “difficult given the financial circumstances.
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