Reform Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick (Image: Getty)
Robert Jenrick has vowed to “reindustrialise” Britain by slashing the cost of energy to help the nation’s key industries. Reform’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 simply will not survive if we continue to have energy prices that are five or six time higher than the United States.”
A Reform government would also aim to save “tens of billions of pounds” by cutting waste, net zero subsidies and spending on asylum seekers, with the proceeds used partly for tax cuts, he said. Mr Jenrick, a former Tory cabinet minister, became the biggest name so far to defect to Reform, when he switched to Nigel Farage’s party in January. He’s since been named Mr Farage’s candidate to become Chancellor.
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The Nottinghamshire MP insists he felt immediately at home, saying: “I have really enjoyed working with Nigel. He’s got bags of energy and he’s got real conviction.”
His plan for government involves working closely with Richard Tice, who will lead an expanded business, trade and energy department if Reform win power, to axe “green” policies championed by Labour Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, and expand the use of nuclear power and fossil fuels from the North Sea.
Mr Jenrick said: “We are certainly going to scrap the net zero madness, that’s for sure.
“It’s impoverishing people and it’s deindustrialising our country.
“A Reform government will have one simple goal for our energy policy, which is energy abundance.
“We want cheap and reliable energy for consumers, who are finding life tough at the moment, and for businesses, so we can reindustrialise.”
Reform are often portrayed as a right-wing party but their position on the economy, at least, is more nuanced than this suggests and they are not wedded to free market economics. Mr Jenrick said Reform would intervene to protect “strategic industries” if needed.
“We do see the connection between economics and security. There are some strategic industries that we need to ensure we preserve and set on a course for future success. Steel is one of those.
“But we will be very judicious in the way we intervene. We don’t believe in picking winners or a return to the industrial strategy of the 1970s. But most successful economies today do have an industrial strategy, whether that is Singapore, the United States or others.
“And there is a role for the state to work with those industries.”
The Covid crisis contributed to the UK’s huge public sector debt of £2,923.7 billion and rising, leaving Chancellor Rachel Reeves little room for manoeuvre – though Reform argues her decisions have made the state of the public finances even worse.
Mr Jenrick insists he will be able to find money to spend, including by axing “net zero” subisidies for heat pumps and electric vehicles, and by cutting the cost of the asylum system.
He said: “We’ve got to cut waste. There’s billions and billions of pounds being wasted right now on priorities that are not those of the British people.
“We are spending billions on giving welfare to migrants. Billions on hotels for illegal immigrants. Billions on net zero subsidies.”
He said that Reform has already identified £13 billion that could be saved from Ed Milliband’s energy department. He continued: “And in the next Parliament that will be tens of billions of pounds. So if we can find those savings, take those difficult decisions, then yes we can bring down people’s bills, and responsibly cut taxes and invest in the actual priorities of the British people.”
Robert Jenrick Reveals Reform’s Big New Plan to Get the UK Economy Firing Again
Robert Jenrick has unveiled a series of ambitious economic proposals for Reform UK, promising a major programme of spending cuts, tax reductions and welfare reform aimed at changing the way the British economy operates.
Jenrick, Reform UK’s Shadow Chancellor, has increasingly taken responsibility for developing the party’s economic platform. His proposals range from raising the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000 to cutting more than £100 billion from public spending during a Reform government’s first 100 days.
The party argues that lower taxes, reduced regulation and tighter control of government spending would encourage investment, employment and economic growth.
However, the scale of the proposed changes means that the debate is likely to focus not only on the potential benefits claimed by Reform, but also on how the savings would be achieved and what the consequences could be for public services and households.
A £100 billion spending challenge
One of Jenrick’s most striking proposals is a plan to identify more than £100 billion of spending reductions during Reform’s first 100 days in office.
According to Reform’s published plan, the package would include approximately £50 billion in welfare savings, between £20 billion and £30 billion from other government departments and £28 billion in reduced debt-interest costs. Jenrick has argued that financial markets want to see a credible route towards lower government borrowing and that spending reductions would create room for future tax cuts.
The proposal represents a very different approach from one based primarily on increasing taxation to fund additional government spending.
Jenrick has presented the strategy as a sequence: reduce waste and spending first, improve the government’s fiscal position and then return more money to workers through lower taxes.
The scale of the proposed savings, however, means that implementation would be a major undertaking.
Cutting £100 billion from public expenditure would require decisions across multiple areas of government. Reform has identified welfare, Net Zero programmes, foreign aid, quangos and the civil service among the areas where it believes substantial savings could be made.
The £15,000 tax-free allowance
One of Reform’s most prominent tax proposals is to increase the personal allowance from its current £12,570 level to £15,000.
Jenrick has described the policy as a way of allowing working people to retain more of their earnings.
The party says the measure would form part of its wider strategy to reward employment and increase the financial incentive to work. It has also presented the policy as a central part of its economic programme for the next general election.
The proposal would affect millions of taxpayers, although the exact financial benefit would depend on an individual’s income and circumstances.
For Reform, the underlying principle is that people who work should retain a greater share of the money they earn.
Jenrick has argued that tax cuts should be funded by structural reductions in government expenditure rather than by additional borrowing.
That distinction is important because it places the party’s economic programme firmly around spending control.
Reform’s plan for small businesses
Jenrick has also announced a separate package aimed at Britain’s small businesses.
The proposals include increasing the VAT registration threshold from £90,000 to £150,000, removing income tax on overtime and reversing Labour’s increase in National Insurance for British workers.
Reform has also proposed changes to employment regulations and data-protection rules, arguing that excessive bureaucracy can make it harder for smaller companies to expand.
Another proposal would expand the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme so that relatives could invest more easily in family businesses.
The party also wants to introduce a £2,000 Apprentice Retention Bonus and reverse changes to inheritance taxation affecting family businesses and farms.
Taken together, these measures are intended to create a business environment in which small companies have greater flexibility to employ staff, invest and expand.
Overtime at the centre of the argument
The proposed removal of income tax on overtime is particularly important to Reform’s message.
Jenrick has described the idea as a “Hard Work Bonus”, with the party arguing that people who take on additional hours should receive a larger proportion of the additional money they earn.
The policy fits into a wider Reform argument that Britain’s tax system should reward work rather than discourage people from increasing their hours.
There is, however, an important distinction between making overtime more financially attractive and guaranteeing that businesses will create more overtime opportunities.
The impact would depend on how employers respond and on the wider economic environment.
Welfare reform
Welfare spending is another major part of Jenrick’s economic programme.
Reform has proposed substantial reductions in the welfare bill while saying that pensioners, children and people with severe disabilities would be protected under its plans.
Jenrick has argued that people who are capable of working should be expected to do so.
Reform has also proposed reassessing some benefit claims based on mental-health conditions and requiring people who have been out of work for at least a year to undertake work in exchange for receiving benefits.
The party presents the measures as an attempt to restore what it calls a stronger link between work and welfare.
Critics of such proposals would be likely to focus on the practical difficulties of distinguishing between people who are able to work and those whose circumstances genuinely prevent employment.
That makes welfare reform one of the most politically sensitive parts of Jenrick’s economic agenda.
Cutting regulation
Another important element of Reform’s approach is deregulation.
The party has argued that businesses face excessive bureaucracy and that reducing regulatory requirements would allow entrepreneurs to spend more time running their companies.
One proposal is to replace GDPR with what Reform describes as a lighter-touch privacy regime. The party argues that current data regulations impose unnecessary costs on smaller companies.
Reform has also proposed removing or changing other employment regulations that it considers burdensome.
The underlying argument is that the state should create a simpler framework in which companies can hire and invest without facing excessive administrative costs.
The counterargument is that employment and data regulations can also provide protections for workers, consumers and individuals.
The eventual economic effect would therefore depend on precisely which rules were removed and what replaced them.
Reform’s approach to Net Zero
Jenrick’s economic programme also includes changes to environmental policy.
Reform has proposed cutting spending associated with Net Zero and scrapping the 2035 Electric Vehicle Mandate. The party argues that such measures would reduce costs for businesses and consumers.
The EV mandate is particularly relevant to the automotive industry because it sets requirements relating to the proportion of new vehicles that manufacturers must sell as zero-emission vehicles.
Reform argues that the current approach places excessive pressure on businesses and consumers.
Supporters of the existing policy would point to the environmental objectives behind the transition to electric vehicles and the need for long-term investment.
The disagreement therefore involves both economic and environmental priorities.
Trying to win market confidence
Jenrick’s economic plans are also being developed against the background of concerns about Britain’s borrowing costs.
Reform announced plans for an investor roadshow in London and New York, with Jenrick arguing that the party needs to convince financial markets that it has a credible fiscal strategy.
This represents an important change in emphasis for Reform.
Political parties can announce tax cuts and spending programmes, but markets ultimately assess whether their numbers appear credible.
Jenrick has therefore sought to present Reform as a party that understands the importance of fiscal discipline.
The investor roadshow is intended to communicate that message directly to financial institutions and investors.
A different economic philosophy
The proposals reveal a fairly consistent economic philosophy.
Reform wants a smaller state, lower taxes, fewer regulations and substantially tighter welfare spending.
The party argues that these changes would encourage work, investment and entrepreneurship.
Jenrick has described the approach as a bargain between government and taxpayers: people who work should keep more of what they earn, while those capable of working should have stronger incentives to enter employment.
That philosophy differs significantly from an economic model based on higher public spending and a larger role for the state.
It also creates a significant political test for Reform: whether it can demonstrate that its proposed savings are realistic enough to fund the tax reductions it has promised.
The arithmetic will matter
Perhaps the most important question surrounding Jenrick’s programme is not whether individual proposals sound attractive, but whether the entire package can be delivered simultaneously.
Cutting taxes reduces government revenue.
Increasing spending in selected areas increases costs.
Reducing welfare spending can create savings, but the scale depends on how many people are affected and how quickly the reforms can be implemented.
Reducing regulation can potentially lower costs for businesses, but changing rules can also require transitional spending.
For Reform, the answer is that major reductions in government expenditure would create the necessary financial room.
Jenrick has repeatedly argued that the existing state contains significant waste and inefficiency that can be removed.
Whether the projected savings would materialise at the levels claimed would become a central issue if Reform ever had responsibility for implementing the programme.
A major test for Reform
Jenrick’s growing role in economic policy represents an attempt to give Reform UK a detailed programme beyond its better-known positions on immigration and Brexit.
The party is seeking to demonstrate that it has an economic strategy covering taxation, welfare, business, regulation and government spending.
The proposals are ambitious.
A £100 billion spending-reduction target, a £15,000 tax-free allowance, changes to welfare rules, deregulation and new incentives for small businesses would collectively represent substantial changes to economic policy.
The debate will ultimately centre on whether the numbers can work and what the consequences would be for households, businesses and public services.
For now, Jenrick is positioning Reform around a clear economic proposition: reduce the size and cost of government, give workers and businesses greater financial freedom and attempt to improve Britain’s fiscal position.
Whether those measures would produce the stronger growth Reform anticipates remains an open question.
What is clear is that the party is putting economic policy increasingly at the centre of its political offer — and Robert Jenrick is becoming one of the principal figures responsible for explaining how Reform believes that programme could work.