Nigel Farage says he can grow the economy. (Image: Getty)
Reform UK is due to announce a slew of new policies intended to create jobs across the UK as they seek to lay out plans for government. It comes ahead of Andy Burnham’s first Budget as Prime Minister on Wednesday, after he swept into power in a bloodless coup earlier this year. Concerns have mounted that taxes could be increased after Mr Burnham repeatedly refused to rule out cutting the country’s bloated benefits bill.
Politicians from Nigel Farage‘s party argue the best way to get things under control is to cut waste and grow the economy. Mr Jenrick will use a speech in London to outline plans for a so-called “teal” Budget, which will include £40billion in cuts to the benefits bill as well. Reform UK Leader. Nigel Farage said: “The British public is frankly fed up with successive governments dodging the big decisions. “It is clear that urgent action is required. Reform’s proposals will create a vibrant, growing private sector that delivers well-paid jobs for British citizens.”
Reform UK Shadow Chancellor Robert Jenrick said: “Everything reported so far suggests this will be a ‘mañana Budget’, with John Healey dodging the tough decisions our country needs.
“We cannot continue like this. The country cannot wait 10 years for Andy Burnham to work out a plan – we need action now.
“Reform would bring forward more than 60 job-creating measures in our first Budget to kickstart the economy. These common-sense policies cost the taxpayer nothing – it is a no-brainer.
“Reform UK has the plan to make the economy work again: spend less, tax less, borrow less, and finally put the British people first.”
Here’s all the policies Reform UK say will help grow the economy.
- Approve Rosebank immediately
- Restart licensing for new oil and gas fields
- Legalise onshore exploration in new licences
- Abolish the Energy Profits Levy immediately
- Return the statutory objective of the North Sea Transition Authority to maximum economic extraction, removing the net zero obligation, and revert its name to Oil & Gas Authority
- Abolish the Emissions Trading Scheme
- Cease the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (including the fertiliser tax)
- Repudiate the AR7 contracts for difference and scrap AR8
- Implement the recommendations of the Fingleton Review for nuclear energy in full immediately
- Legislate for the automatic approval of French and South Korean nuclear designs as safe
- Reduce affordable housing requirements to 0% for brownfield developments outside of major cities and 5% for major cities
- Implement a broad Permitted Development Right for brownfield residential development
- Repeal Biodiversity Net Gain rules
- Exit the Aarhus Convention
- Repeal and reform the Habitats Regulations, including Nutrient Neutrality
- End the ban on household boilers
- Legalise the use of air conditioning to meet overheating requirements and prohibit cooling hierarchy rules
- Remove mandatory Energy Performance Certificate improvements for residential and commercial buildings
- Revoke the Future Homes Standard
- Repeal the Renters’ Rights Act
- Legislate planning and environmental approval for new runway projects, including Heathrow and Gatwick, including full overrides of other legislation, unlike the broken HS2 Act
- Introduce competitive auctions for airport take-off and landing slots, starting with new and surrendered slots at Heathrow and Gatwick
- End the use of ‘target-consistent’ carbon pricing in project evaluation
- Prohibit consideration of carbon emissions in individual planning applications
- Make all water reservoirs ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects’, bringing them into the national fast-track for major projects
- Make Development Consent Orders truly a one-stop shop, by removing the
- requirement that the original authority agree
- Restrict judicial review for planning decisions by the Secretary of State
- Scrap Net Zero rules that apply during construction (e.g., National Highways’ requirement that the Lower Thames Crossing be constructed without using diesel)
- Scrap social value test for procurement
- Remove limits on the number of launches from SaxaVord Spaceport
- Open the already-built sections of East-West Rail by resolving the industrial disputesJoining the AI Revolution
- Rapidly review regulatory barriers in the way of AI adoption across the economy
- Explicitly permit on-location dispatchable generation (including gas engines or turbines) for industrial developments, including data centres
- Return the Employer National Insurance rate to 13.8% for British workers, down from Rachel Reeves’s 15%
- Introducing a migrant worker levy to reduce the incentive to hire low-skilled foreign workers, instead of investing in British workers or automation
- Repeal Angela Rayner’s ruinous Employment Rights Act, including mandatory trade union access
- Clarify that ‘reasonable steps’ to protect workplace rights do not require mandatory training courses
- Reform the CSCS system for tradesmen, allowing experienced tradesmen to use their experience in lieu of a qualification on government contracts and opening the system up to competition
- Review capital requirements on banks to encourage lending to the real economy
- Send a remit letter to Britain’s financial regulators, including the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority, ruling out Net Zero considerations
- Repeal climate-related financial disclosures rules
- Remove the requirement that airports have ‘surface access strategies’ to reduce car traffic, thereby reducing the pressure on parking and drop-off fees
- Abolish the electric and hybrid vehicle mandates that ban new pure-internal combustion cars by 2030 and all non Zero-Emission vehicles, including vans, by 2035
- Allow all HGV trips inside the United Kingdom to be subject to domestic GB hours
- Prohibit Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods
- Provide UK Treasury or British Sovereign Wealth Fund support to the Welsh Government to get the M4 Relief Road built
- Move the requirement for a new car’s first MOT from three years to four in Great Britain, in line with Northern Ireland and European norms
- Abolish the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation
- Replace the GDPR with a New Zealand-style Privacy Act that retains adequacy
- Fully re-legalise the use of Imperial units
- Review all unchanged EU law and repeal or modify all that which does not match the UK’s circumstances
- Automatically repeal all remaining unchanged EU law in 5 years, unless a specific decision is taken to retain it under an affirmative procedure
- Make quarterly reporting voluntary under Making Tax Digital
- Reduce the legal obligations on Non-Executive Directors for small and medium enterprises
- Double the number of days land can be used for events, markets and other activities without planning permission from 28 to 56 days annually
- Grant pavement dining licences automatically and make them permanent unless revoked, rather than automatically expiring after 2 years
- Generally permit shops to stay open until 10pm, except on Sundays
- Repeal board diversity and inclusion rules
- Remove the mandate for Sustainable Aviation Fuel
- Abolish Extended Producer Responsibility (the so-called packaging tax)
- Scrap the preference for the BBC and Channel 4 on YouTube and other streaming sites
- Remove the Public Sector Equality Duty
- Adopt a five-year regulatory sunset on all existing QUANGOs, requiring them to justify their existence or be automatically abolished
- Require all new regulations to have a sunset clause within 5 years, with a post-implementation review completed before the sunset, forcing ministers to actively re-commit to new rule
This Is How Nigel Farage Says He Can Save the UK Economy as Reform UK Unveils Budget
Nigel Farage has set out an ambitious alternative economic programme as Reform UK attempts to convince voters that Britain can revive growth, create jobs and ease pressure on businesses without relying on further tax increases. The proposals, presented ahead of the government’s Budget on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, place lower business costs, reduced regulation, expanded energy production and substantial welfare savings at the centre of the party’s economic strategy. <Cite refs={[“turn808555search0″,”turn808555news12”]}/>
Reform UK argues that Britain has become too expensive and complicated a place to do business. Its leaders say successive governments have imposed excessive taxes and regulations, discouraging investment and making it harder for companies to expand. They believe that reducing these burdens would encourage businesses to recruit more workers, increase production and help restore economic momentum.
The party’s proposed programme includes more than 60 measures intended to stimulate private-sector activity. Among the headline commitments are reversing the increase in employer National Insurance introduced under the previous Labour government, changing environmental regulations, accelerating infrastructure projects and reducing the cost of employing workers. <Cite refs={[“turn808555search0”]}/>
However, the proposals also raise important questions about public finances, environmental policy and the practical consequences of large-scale regulatory changes. Whether the programme could deliver the growth Reform promises would depend on how the measures were implemented, how they were funded and how businesses responded.
Cutting taxes and costs for employers
A central part of Reform UK’s strategy is to reduce the financial burden on employers. The party proposes returning the employer National Insurance rate to 13.8%, reversing the increase to 15% introduced under Rachel Reeves. <Cite refs={[“turn808555search0”]}/>
Reform argues that higher employment costs make businesses more reluctant to recruit staff, particularly when firms are already dealing with higher wages, energy bills and other operating expenses.
Reducing employer National Insurance could lower the cost of hiring workers. Businesses might use the savings to recruit additional employees, increase wages, invest in equipment or strengthen their finances. Smaller firms, which often have less room to absorb additional costs, could particularly welcome measures that improve cash flow.
Nevertheless, a reduction in employer National Insurance would also reduce government revenue unless the lost income were offset elsewhere or economic activity generated sufficient additional tax receipts. The scale of any employment response is uncertain: some businesses might recruit more workers, while others could retain the savings or use them to repay debts.
Reform’s wider approach is based on the argument that a more favourable business environment would eventually expand the tax base by encouraging investment and employment. Critics would question whether the resulting growth could compensate for the immediate cost of the tax cuts.
That calculation is central to the credibility of the programme. Lower taxes can encourage economic activity, but the benefits depend on the condition of the economy, the design of the changes and the confidence of employers.
Expanding North Sea oil and gas production
Energy policy is another major pillar of Reform UK’s economic programme. Farage’s party wants to approve the Rosebank oilfield, restart licensing for new oil and gas fields and remove the Energy Profits Levy, which taxes exceptional profits made by oil and gas companies. <Cite refs={[“turn808555search0”]}/>
Reform argues that increasing domestic energy production could support jobs, strengthen energy security and reduce some of the economic risks associated with dependence on overseas supplies.
The party also wants to accelerate nuclear power development by implementing recommendations from the Fingleton Review and reducing regulatory barriers to approving nuclear designs.
These proposals reflect the view that reliable, affordable energy is essential for industrial competitiveness. Manufacturers, data centres and other energy-intensive businesses need dependable supplies, and high energy costs can influence decisions about where to invest.
However, approving new oil and gas projects would not guarantee lower household energy bills. Prices are influenced by international markets, infrastructure, production costs and the wider energy mix. New projects can also take years to deliver, meaning their contribution to near-term supply may be limited.
Environmental campaigners are likely to challenge proposals to weaken emissions policies, arguing that they could slow the transition to cleaner energy and increase long-term climate risks.
The economic debate therefore centres on whether additional domestic production and faster infrastructure development would generate benefits sufficient to justify the financial, environmental and regulatory consequences.
Reform’s plan to cut welfare spending
Perhaps the most contentious part of the programme is its proposed reduction in welfare spending.
Reform UK has indicated that it wants to cut the benefits bill by approximately £40 billion, presenting welfare reform as a way to reduce public expenditure while funding tax cuts and encouraging more people into employment. <Cite refs={[“turn808555search0”]}/>
The party argues that the benefits system should do more to support people into work and reduce long-term dependence on government assistance. It also says that lowering the cost of employment could help businesses create jobs for British workers.
However, achieving savings on this scale would require detailed changes to eligibility rules, assessments, payment levels or the administration of benefits. The financial consequences would depend on which programmes were affected and how the reforms were implemented.
There is also a distinction between reducing benefit payments and generating lasting economic savings. If people move into stable employment, the government could collect more tax while spending less on some forms of support. But if changes leave people unable to work without adequate assistance, they could increase hardship and create additional pressures elsewhere in public services.
Reform would need to explain how its proposals would protect people who cannot work because of disability, illness or caring responsibilities while achieving the savings it has outlined.
The party’s economic strategy rests partly on the expectation that lower business costs and fewer regulatory barriers will generate enough new employment to support a stronger economy. That outcome is possible in principle, but its scale cannot be assumed in advance.
Can deregulation deliver faster growth?
Reform’s programme contains numerous proposals to simplify planning rules, review inherited European Union legislation and reduce what it considers unnecessary regulatory burdens.
The party wants to accelerate housebuilding on brownfield land, change environmental approval procedures and make it easier to develop major infrastructure projects, including airport expansion. It also proposes reviewing employment regulations and changing rules affecting small businesses. <Cite refs={[“turn808555search0”]}/>
Supporters argue that lengthy planning procedures can delay investment, increase construction costs and prevent useful projects from moving forward. Faster approvals could help housing developers, infrastructure companies and manufacturers make decisions more quickly.
Yet regulation also serves purposes beyond preventing construction. Environmental protections, employment rights, consumer safeguards and data-protection rules can protect individuals and provide confidence for businesses operating in complex markets.
Removing a requirement may reduce costs for one company while creating risks or additional expenses for another group. Changes to data-protection rules, for example, would need to account for the importance of international data transfers to British firms.
Reform’s proposed replacement for UK GDPR would also have to preserve the conditions needed for personal data to flow freely between Britain and the European Union. Major differences between the two systems could create additional compliance difficulties if the UK’s data-adequacy arrangements were affected. <Cite refs={[“turn808555news9”]}/>
The challenge is therefore not simply to remove as many rules as possible. It is to identify which requirements unnecessarily obstruct productive activity and which provide protections or economic benefits that should be maintained.
What critics say about the economic plan
Labour and Conservative politicians have challenged elements of Reform’s programme, particularly its proposed tax cuts and spending reductions. Critics argue that the party must provide detailed costings and demonstrate how its proposals would affect government revenue, public services and economic growth. <Cite refs={[“turn808555news12″,”turn808555news15”]}/>
Independent analysis has also raised questions about individual proposals. The Tax Policy Associates analysis of Reform’s plan to exempt certain overtime pay from income tax estimated that the measure could cost around £14 billion annually, compared with the party’s estimate of £5 billion. The analysis argued that workers and employers could have incentives to reclassify ordinary working hours as overtime. This is an external estimate, not a confirmed government costing, but it illustrates the importance of examining behavioural effects when assessing tax policies. <Cite refs={[“turn883053news8”]}/>
The same principle applies to the wider programme. Tax cuts may encourage investment and employment, but they also reduce revenue initially. Spending reductions can improve the public finances, but they may have economic and social consequences. Deregulation can accelerate projects, but poorly designed changes can introduce other costs.
To assess the overall plan, voters would need transparent calculations showing the expected cost of each measure, the timing of any savings and the assumptions behind forecasts of additional growth.
A different economic direction for Britain
Farage’s programme offers a clear alternative to an approach that relies on existing tax arrangements and regulatory frameworks. Reform wants lower business costs, expanded energy production, faster planning decisions and substantial reductions in public expenditure.
The central promise is that these changes would create a more dynamic private sector and encourage investment that eventually strengthens public finances.
Whether that promise can be delivered depends on implementation. The government would need to manage the transition carefully, establish which regulations should change, and demonstrate that projected savings are achievable without undermining essential services.
Britain’s economic challenges cannot be resolved by one announcement. Productivity, skills, housing supply, infrastructure, energy security and the cost of public borrowing all influence long-term prosperity.
Reform UK’s Budget provides voters with a set of proposals to examine against those challenges. The key questions are how much the measures would cost, who would benefit, who might lose out and whether the projected economic gains are realistic.
Ultimately, Farage’s claim that the UK economy can be revived through lower taxes, reduced regulation and spending cuts will be tested by evidence rather than rhetoric. The programme’s success would depend on whether it can produce sustained growth, improve living standards and maintain the public services on which households and businesses rely.