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Nigel Farage will promise a bonfire of business regulation as he spells out his party’s economic policies in more detail than ever in an attempt to bolster its reputation for fiscal credibility.
The Reform leader will give a speech in London putting deregulation at the heart of his economic agenda, while also dropping a commitment made at the last election to deliver £90bn of tax cuts.
The message is designed to bolster his party’s reputation for fiscal credibility after experts warned that his promises to cut £350bn from government spending over the next parliament did not add up.
Farage will say: “When it comes to Brexit … we have not taken advantage of the opportunities to deregulate and become more competitive. The harsh truth is that regulations and regulators, in many areas, are worse than they were back in 2016.”
He will add: “Reform UK will do things very differently. We will be the most pro-business, pro-entrepreneurship government this country has seen in modern times. This will mean more well-paid jobs for workers.
“We will free businesses to get on and make more money. We will bring into government people with real expertise in their areas. And we will signal a change of attitude towards work, making money and success.”
On his previous tax-cutting promises, he will add: “Reform will get public spending under control, so that the nation’s borrowing costs come down. Then, and only then, will I cut taxes to stimulate growth. We must get the economy growing.”
Farage’s speech is part of a broader push to flesh out Reform’s domestic policies to counter criticism that the party cares only about migration.
The party has been torn between its traditional economically liberal instincts and a desire to win over disenfranchised voters in Labour heartlands who are more supportive of state intervention.
In recent months Farage has promised to nationalise half of the British water industry and spoken more warmly than before about the role of trade unions.
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Monday’s speech promises to be a return to his deregulatory roots, albeit without the tax-cutting zeal he has shown in the past.
Economists have warned, however, that the spending cuts he has previously promised to deliver will prove difficult – if not impossible – to deliver.
In May Farage claimed the government could save £45bn a year from abandoning net zero commitments. But the experts he relied on for that calculation warned afterwards the figure was mainly made up of private-sector investment, which does not contribute towards public spending.
