Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick has denied saying his party would cut £100 billion from public spending in its first 100 days in office, insisting the figure he gave was £80 billion.
His comments came after Conservative Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said this morning that Reform’s sums did not add up.
Reports of Jenrick’s speech to the Reform UK conference on 3 September put the party’s proposed savings at more than £100 billion, including £28 billion from lower government debt interest.
Asked about the £100 billion figure, Jenrick told the Camilla Tominey Show on GB News: “No, I said that we’d deliver £80 billion.”
Pressed again, he said: “No. What I said is two things. I said that we’ve got £80 billion of savings that we’ve detailed. I also said that if we can restore credibility, which remember has been lost, beginning with the Tories’ mini-budget under Liz Truss, then we can bring down the cost of borrowing that we’re experiencing today.”
He added: “…if we can bring down the cost of borrowing in this country just to the level that France and Greece have, then that will save us £28 billion. Now I don’t pretend that’s going to happen in 100 days.”
When told that he could not bank a saving from a lower interest rate, Jenrick said: “Well, the good news is I haven’t.
“What we’ve said is that we’re going to save £80 billion, and we’re going to spend £17 billion of that on this cut to taxes by raising the personal allowance, so you can see the balance we’ve got here: £80 billion of savings.”
He also said the party’s plan to raise the tax-free personal allowance on income tax to £20,000 was now an “ambition”: “What we’ve said is that it is our ambition over the course of the next parliament to get the tax-free personal allowance to 20 grand…
“What we’re saying is that the first step in that road is that if we are lucky enough to form the next government, I will call a budget within 100 days.
“No mucking around like Rachel Reeves did, wait months and months and months. We’ll have that budget, and in it, we will raise the personal allowance then to £15,000.
“Now, look, if we can find further savings, if we can get this economy going again, we’ll keep raising it year after year after year till we reach the 20 grand.
“But do not underestimate what a big step it is to go from £12,570 to £15,000. That’s a tax cut for 40 million people.”
