Robert Jenrick hit out at Chancellor Rachel Reeves for having “unleashed chaos” as he gave a major speech this morning. Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman made his first outing in the role with the address in the City of London alongside party leader Nigel Farage.
He told the press conference: “Before the election, I bet some of you in this room went to listen to Rachel Reeves.
“She pledged financial stability and investment, she said she would unleash the protection of British workers and to a weary public.
“Instead of offering stability, she’s unleashed chaos. What Britain needs is Reform.”
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Rupert Lowe’s ‘Restore Britain’ to see more defections
A new political party founded by former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe is expecting more defections later today. Restore Britain, which was founded by the Greater Yarmouth MP over the weekend, saw 7 councillors in Kent join yesterday evening.
Now the Daily Express understands more defections are expected this afternoon. One party insider told the Express to “be on the lookout” as “more are on the way today”.
Tories accuse Reform of changing economic plans every week
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: “One week Nigel Farage says Robert Jenrick is a fraud, next week he’s Reform’s economic guru. You cannot trust a word he says.
“Reform’s economic policy changes by the week. Just two weeks ago, Rob Jenrick voted to lift the two-child benefit cap. Today he claims he would reinstate it. They make even Keir Starmer look consistent.
“Within Reform, no one agrees on anything. Danny Kruger wants to scrap the two-child cap. Richard Tice wants to scrap the OBR. Suella Braverman wants to pursue ‘socialist’ policies.
“But none of it really matters. Reform is a one-man band. The only view that counts is Nigel Farage’s and he wants more welfare.
“Only the Conservatives have a leader with the backbone and the team with a plan to get Britain working again.”
Starmer breaks silence on local elections U-turn
Sir Keir Starmer has broken his silence after his U-turn on delayed local elections.
The Prime Minister insisted the decision to postpone dozens of May’s ballots had been “locally led”.
He defended the climbdown on the plans, saying the Government “followed further legal advice” amid a Reform UK legal challenge.
Put to him during a visit to South Wales that the reversal had left local councils scrambling to organise polls at short notice, the Prime Minister said: “Well, I think it’s important to remind ourselves that the decision to cancel was a locally-led decision in the sense that each authority could decide.
“And, yes, Labour authorities came forward to say, ‘please delay’.
“But so did Tory authorities, so did Lib Dem authorities.
“In relation to the position, we took further legal advice, and as you would expect as a government, having got further legal advice, we followed that legal advice.”
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Taxpayers’ Alliance warn Jenrick that actions speak louder than words
Responding to Robert Jenrick MP’s remarks at Reform UK’s press conference on the economy, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:
“Robert Jenrick’s gets a lot right in his diagnosis of the economic and fiscal problems Britain faces, but words are far easier than actions.
“Committing to dealing with the national debt, clamping down on welfarism, even reversing Reform’s policy on lifting the two-child benefit cap, and reforming the tax system are welcome commitments, but some taxpayers will worry that it could be too good to be true.
“If Reform is to gain the trust of sceptical Brits, they need to develop a clear, fully costed and serious plan on how they will implement the promises made today.”
Jenrick grilled on triple lock
Asked if Reform would keep the triple lock, Robert Jenrick replied: “We’re going to be saying more about this in the coming days but I’ve always been a supporter of the triple lock.
“It’s incredibly important that we provide dignity and security to older people on fixed incomes in the last decades of their life, particularly at a time like this where there are such challenging circumstances with the cost of living.
“So I don’t think your readers will be disappointed but we’ll say more in the coming weeks.”
Starmer condemns Reform’s promise to restore two-child benefit cap
Sir Keir Starmer has branded Reform UK’s pledge to reinstate the two-child benefit cap “shameful”.
The Prime Minister said in a post on X: “Shameful. I’m incredibly proud that this Government has scrapped the cruel two-child limit.
“Reform wants to push hundreds of thousands of children into poverty.”
Jenrick blasts net zero
A future Reform UK government would make “full use” of North Sea oil, Robert Jenrick has declared.
He said: “When Westminster got swept away with net zero fanaticism, Richard Tice was a lonely voice of common sense.
“You can trust Reform to scrap the impossible targets that are driving energy costs through the roof, the farce of paying vast amounts of cash for intermittent and unreliable energy delivered at the wrong times.”
He added that the party would make “full use of the gold buried in the North Sea to keep the lights on and bring in revenue”.
Reform would scrap red tape and diversity targets
Robert Jenrick has said Reform UK would “make life easier” for businesses by scrapping red tape and diversity targets.
The party’s new Treasury spokesman said: “We actually want businesses to succeed, because when they succeed, they create well-paid jobs and careers.
“Reform will unashamedly champion British businesses of all sizes.
“A Reform government will leave you to run your business and to innovate, rather than forcing the lanyard class to run it for you.
“It means a return to meritocracy and the pursuit of excellence, so no more diversity targets on company boards.
“We will scrap red tape. We’ll make every effort to make life easier.”
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Starmer dodges any questions about council u-turn
Remarkably Keir Starmer wasn’t asked any questions about this week’s latest u-turn, on the attempted scrapping of 30 council elections for 4.6 million Britons.
Welsh press dedicated all their questions to today’s announcement on trains.
Reform won’t repeat Truss’s mistakes
Robert Jenrick said insisted Reform UK will not follow in the footsteps of Liz Truss and her mini budget.
He said the party would not cut taxes until it had generated fiscal “headroom” to do so.
He said: “We have seen what happens when this economic rule is ignored and fiscal discipline is thrown out of the window. Liz Truss went down the path of wild spending splurges alongside big tax cuts.
“The result was chaos. Mortgage payments soared, working people suffered.
“Today, I give you my word that a Reform government will never play fast and loose with your savings.”
(Image: Getty)
Reform to launch review tax codes
Reform UK will launch the first review of tax codes in nearly 40 years if it gets into government, Robert Jenrick has said.
The party’s Treasury spokesman told the press conference: “Reform believes that taxes are far too high and that cutting them is crucial to generating economic growth.
“We see the value in doing so wholesale where tax clearly disincentivises work and investment, and in a targeted way to spur investment in the growth sectors of the future like the biotech industry.
“We want a simpler, fairer tax system that incentivises work, saving and investment. That means fixing the absurd marginal tax rates that many people face in our country today, so we do intend to review the tax code in a programme not seen since the landmark reforms of Nigel Lawson.
“We also understand that we can’t make tax cuts while running a huge deficit in the vain hope that the Laffer curve alone will do the hard work for us. That is why Nigel drew a line under the previous tax and spending commitments Reform had made.”
He added: “We will never make promises we can’t keep to the British people, so we’ll only cut taxes when we have generated the fiscal headroom necessary to make those tax cuts sustainable.”
Reform will end Motability scheme ‘abuse’
Robert Jenrick said that Reform UK would “end the abuse of the Motability scheme, where expensive cars are handed out for conditions like tennis elbow and paid for by working people who could never afford the same cars”.
Starmer issuing message ahead of Wales elections
Keir Starmer is using today’s Welsh rail announcement to insist Welsh voters are benefiting from having Labour governments in both London and Cardiff.
He says the announcement about fresh rail funding can only be made because Rachel Reeves has ‘stabilised the economy’.
He highlights falls in interest rates cutting mortgage costs.
“You may have seen this morning that inflation has come down again… as we’re bringing it down it eases the burden on people”
Jenrick takes swipe at Burnham
Robert Jenrick has said he believes “the opposite” to Andy Burnham when the Greater Manchester mayor said the Government should not be “in hock” to the bond markets.
Reform UK’s new Treasury spokesman said: “If you need to borrow money to fund your spending, then you need to convince the lender that you have the wherewithal to repay it.
“I say to the bond markets that I respect you, that bond markets force the Government to face up to difficult trade-offs.”
Keir Starmer up now
Starmer’s speaking from a train hanger in South Wales.
His main message is about Transport for Wales setting out major changes.
He is confirming seven new train stations in Wales, backed by £14bn in funding.
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Reform to cut ‘wasteful spending’
Robert Jenrick promised that Reform would slash “wasteful spending”.
He said: “Reform believes in fiscal responsibility. We believe Britain’s rising debt must be brought under control because right now £1 in every £13 you pay in tax is spent just on the interest on the country’s debt.
“The first thing a Reform government will do is to bring Britain back from the brink of a debt crisis by cutting wasteful spending.
“Successive governments have taken more and more of people’s money and they’ve wasted it, they’ve sprayed it around with no regard for how hard they’ve worked for it or their priorities.
“They say your money is needed for the NHS, the police, the Armed Forces, the vulnerable. But more and more often it’s not going to them, it’s going to those who don’t need it or shouldn’t be getting it. Council houses for migrants, foreign aid to rich countries, billions in welfare for foreign citizens, expensive new cars for those with mild anxiety. Reform will get rid of this endemic waste.”
Jenrick lets rip at Reeves
Robert Jenrick accused Chancellor Rachel Reeves of having “unleashed chaos” with Labour’s economic policies.
Reform’s Treasury spokesman told the press conference: “Before the election, I bet some of you in this room went to listen to Rachel Reeves.
“She pledged financial stability and investment, she said she would unleash the protection of British workers and to a weary public.
“Instead of offering stability, she’s unleashed chaos. What Britain needs is Reform.”
(Image: Getty)
Reform to restore two-child benefit cap in full
Reform UK would restore the two-child benefit cap in full, Robert Jenrick will announce in his first outing as the party’s Treasury spokesman.
He is expected to say: “Today, Reform is changing our policy on the two-child cap for universal credit.
“We want to help working families have more children. But right now, we just cannot afford to do so with welfare. So it has to go.
“As Reform’s shadow chancellor, I’m ending it. A Reform government will restore the cap in full.”
Nigel Farage’s party had previously said it would lift the cap for British families in full-time work.
Jenrick now up
Reform’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick has now taken to the stage at the press conference.
Farage erupts over bid to evict Chagossians
Nigel Farage began the press conference by slamming the Government’s bid to evict a small group of Chagossians who returned to the islands in protest at the handover deal.
The Reform leader told the press conference: “You can cross the English Channel in a dinghy, dispose of your passport and iPhone, and we will put you up in a hotel and your chances of ever being evicted are less than 2%.
“And yet this attempt by a group of people to reclaim their birthright is being threatened by the British Government this morning.
“What about their human rights Lord Hermer? What about their right to a family life? We are looking right now at every possible legal avenue we can to support these people and their brave quest to rebuild their lives as Chagossians.”
Reform press conference is about to begin
Reform Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick will take the stage soon
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Keir Starmer speaking at same time as Jenrick
Keir Starmer is about to issue his first public comments since announcing a major u-turn on cancelling local elections for millions of Britons.
He’s speaking at the same time as Robert Jenrick gives his first speech as Reform UK’s shadow Chancellor.
Reeves dodges grilling over potential new U-turn
Chancellor Rachel Reeves dodged the question when asked whether the Government would stick to its plans to equalise the minimum wage between younger and older workers.
The Chancellor was asked twice during a visit to a supermarket in south London whether she would delay plans to increase wages for 18 to 20-year-olds.
She replied: “We already have incentives to hire young people with the apprenticeship rate of the minimum wage, but also for no national insurance contributions for the youngest workers.
“But we do recognise there are challenges and that is why we’re extending the number of further education college places, extending the number of apprenticeship places to help young people get the skills and the experience that they need to move into work.”
