Nigel Farage Warns Britain Faces Financial Collapse as He Steers Reform to the Right on Spending
Nigel Farage has warned that Britain faces collapse under its “extraordinary” debt mountain today as he steered Reform to the Right on spending, withdrawing the pledge to scrap the two-child benefit cap and promising to slash inappropriate disability benefits. The Mail has more.
In a crucial speech in the City of London, Mr Farage made a bold bid to burnish his credentials as a serious contender to run the country.
He underlined that getting the deficit down and slashing red tape for business will be the overriding priority for a Reform government, saying only then can the burden on struggling Brits be reduced.
Delivering a dire assessment of the UK’s current condition, Mr Farage urged a push to lure back wealthy people and foster aspiration.
He also appeared to backtrack on the commitment to scrap the two-child benefit cap – suggesting only working couples would get such handouts.
Insisting Reform is being “sensible” and “not over-promising”, Mr Farage said he was determined to “cut spending” and “encourage growth”.
He said welfare changes such as stripping people with low-level anxiety of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) would save £9 billion a year. The “lunacy” of Net Zero spending would also be reduced.
“We want to cut taxes, of course we do but we understand that substantial tax cuts… are not realistic at this time,” Mr Farage said.
“The state of the finances, the state of the economy is far far worse than it was in the run up to the 2024 General Election. But be in no doubt we are pro-business…”
Mr Farage warned that debt was rising faster in the UK than “any comparable country”, with debt interest costs alone running at £100 billion a year.
He said the “markets are getting nervy” – predicting investors will force even “hard-Left socialist” Labour into a “genuine austerity Budget” in 2027 and trigger a snap election.
The intervention comes with polls showing Mr Farage on track to win the keys to Downing Street.
But Reform has been facing increasing questions about what its approach would be if it does end up in power.
Insiders acknowledge that the party will have to demonstrate it can be trusted with detailed policies as the election draws closer.
The speech has been billed as Mr Farage’s first big move on economic policy, after he secured a groundswell of support by campaigning on issues such as immigration and ‘wokery’.
Worth reading in full.
This is welcome news and will increase the pressure on Labour to be fiscally responsible – Reform’s earlier outflanking of Labour to the Left with its pledge to scrap the two-child benefit cap had not exactly helped Starmer in his attempt to cut welfare spending.
The question is, will Reform’s working class base, many of whom receive benefits of some kind, wear it? The hope in the party leadership will be that by targeting cuts in areas seen as abusing the system, such as disability payments for anxiety, the party can carry its working class supporters with it.
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Stop increasing the debt my grandchildren will have to pay back.
Abolish welfare-state, NHS, and return public services to the private sector.
Pre-1948 nationalisation of health care: there were 2 750 hospitals (most built prior to 20th Century); 480 000 hospital beds; fully staffed without immigrants; 400 000 on waiting list – population 50 million.
NHS today: now only 1 600 hospitals (still most built before the 20th Century); 145 000 hospital beds; staffed by immigrants; 7 million + on the waiting list – population 68 million.
And pre-1911 National Insurance Act, 75% of the population had private health insurance, many had unemployment and sickness insurance as part of the package. People saved for their old age.
The welfare-state only nationalised what was already there including an extensive system of private charity. It was, is, and always will be an expensive con to make the population dependent on the State.
I don’t believe there is a single politician in this country willing let alone able to run the state finances responsibly.
There is literally no route except cutting most benefits and leaving those people no option but to work.
And that would cause a riot. And the blob would undermine it.
Impossible. Literally impossible.
The true long-term solution is for spending plans to spend only the amount which actually comes in this year. Then they’re anchored in reality as opposed to fantasy.
“The question is, will Reform’s working class base, many of whom receive benefits of some kind, be happy about this? “
The point is would the working class base prefer work instead of benefits? The answer up there in the Red Wall is yes, unless something has changed in recent times. Most working class are aspirational, they don’t aspire to a life on welfare. They are also socially conservative. (I speak as being from a working class heritage and from “up North”.)
It is why Margaret Thatcher won great support – surprisingly – among the working class, she played to their aspiration.
These are the descenders who worked long hours in arduous, often dangerous and dirty jobs rather than go on the Dole, it being shameful if a man could not support himself and family.
It’s why they voted for Brexit, the EU had delivered no benefits, and now Labour, Tory have failed them.
“These are the descenders who worked long hours in arduous…”
Correction: These are the descendants of those who worked long hours in arduous,…
Big news breaking on BBC doctoring Donald Trump speech footage on Jan 6 to make it look like he incited the Capitol riot that we now know was an FBI / Democrat operation. Was broadcast on Panorama before last year’s election. This is going to be so much fun to watch when Donald sues the BBC. He will probably ban the BBC from entering the US by refusing visas.
BBC Verify and the BBC Trusted News Initiative making BBC homework again.
Unverifiable, untrustworthy and unscrupulous.
Defund the BBC. If they want to adopt a ‘political stance’ they can do it without a compulsory tax.
The people will have to defund the BBC by refusing to pay the licence fee. No establishment party will do it.
It won’t work unless he can get the out of work back to work. Step one is to realise that the young out of work are ill with pathological anxiety a leading problem. But there are others (depression, obesity, type 2 emellitus etc).
The main problem is increased carriage of Staphylococcus aureus causing chronic inflammation. In turn this is a result of a sub-optimal microbiome due to a diet which is deficient in lactose fermenting bacteria. The answer is daily yoghurt.
The bit of the MAGA movement that Farage should copy is the “Make America healthy again” – but not with drugs or vaccines – just what your grandmother new – milk and yoghurt are good for you.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379311083_The_Microbiome_and_the_Entropy_Paradox_An_Evolutionary_Perspective_Food_Nutrition_Journal
Those in receipt of benefits who are capable of work will have to “wear it” as the Labour Government as Farage predicts is soon going to cause an economic collapse and the IMF which is no countries friend will impose austerity like its never been seen before. It won’t need to be Farage to do this, Labour will have done it all by themselves
“We want to cut taxes, of course we do but we understand that substantial tax cuts… are not realistic at this time,” Mr Farage said.
“We want to cut taxes, of course we do but we understand that substantial tax cuts… are not realistic at this time,” Mr Cameron said.
“We want to cut taxes, of course we do but we understand that substantial tax cuts… are not realistic at this time,” Mrs May said.
“We want to cut taxes, of course we do but we understand that substantial tax cuts… are not realistic at this time,” Mr Johnson said.
“We want to cut taxes, of course we do but we understand that substantial tax cuts… are not realistic at this time,” Mr Sunak said.
You missed Liz Truss for some reason?
Liz Truss was sensibly going to cut taxes with a temporary measured amount of borrowing. Miniscule by Reeves standards. But she was undone by the BOE, the treasury, her own party and vested interests who favoured Sunak who she beat fair and square.
Are we expecting turkeys to vote for Christmas?
I am worried that sensible politics just won’t get the votes.
We see snide comments from BBC and the like saying Farage has abandoned his promises of lower tax and is changing his taxes.
of course he is! The moron smashing our economy to bits like a stupid, clumsy child is driving in closer to third world status every, day, month and year.
Sorting out the mess left behind by Labour, the same as every mess behind by previous Labour governments, will shape the task of any following Chancellor.
Labour talk with distaste about the ‘Austerity’ policy after the Blair/Brown government. They completely ignore that little note left on the desk of the Treasury Minister. ‘It’s all gone, there’s nothing left’.
They weren’t joking.
And what of Boris Johnson’s debt pile he bequeathed the nation?