1 hour ago
2
Good morning. Yesterday, as the government announced drastic plans to curb the number of asylum seekers able to stay in the UK, it was accused of adopting the politics of Reform UK, the anti-immigration party with a big lead in the opinion polls. In response, ministers argued that Labour would be doing even worse if it just ignored the legitimate concerns of voters who are supporting Nigel Farage’s party.
But, when mainstream parties move on to the territory of the more extreme parties, those parties often respond with a further lurch to the right, and we will see an example of that today. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, is holding a press conference where he is going to announce proposals that cover immigration and the budget (the other huge story preoccupying Westminster politics at the moment). As Peter Walker reports, Farage will propose spending cuts which he clams would save £25bn a year.
At the heart of the plan are three proposals, all of which involve penalising foreigners. They are:
-
The virtual elimination of all foreign aid spending. Currently aid spending runs at almost £14bn a year, but Reform would slash this to £1bn.
-
Removing the right of EU nationals living in the UK to claim benefits, which Reform UK says would save £6bn.
-
Increasing the cost of the NHS surcharge, the fee paid by non-UK residents when they get a visa to stay in the UK. This would rise form £1,035 to £2,718 a year, which Reform UK says would save £5bn.
Yesterday the Home Office triggered outrage by suggesting that the government might remove jewellery from asylum seekers to help compensate for what they cost the taxpayer. According to Politico, one Reform official described this as “vindictive”. But the ‘jewellery’ plan (which does not even mention jewellery at all – that story only emerged from a hypothetical comment in an interview) would probably only raise paltry sums. Farage is proposing a huge fiscal rethink that would appropriate billions earmarked for people who aren’t British.
With nationalism an increasingly powerful force in politics, Farage is clearly calculating that this will go down well with voters.
In advance of the Reform press conference, Labour has issued a press notice criticising the proposals. But it does not refer to aid spending, or the NHS surcharge. Instead it points out that removing benefits from EU nationals would be a breach of the post-Brexit trade deal, which potentially could mean a trade war with Europe. A Labour party spokesperson said:
Nigel Farage’s fantasy numbers don’t add up, and he’d leave British taxpayers footing a hefty bill.
Farage is happy to slap British shoppers with higher prices at the checkouts by risking a trade war with Europe. He’d betray working people and hammer British businesses who want to trade with the EU.
Farage seems to think that the threat of trade retaliation from the EU is just a bluff, but he will explain more at his press conference. It is all a bit reminiscent of Brexit, when leavers were accused of having a rosy view of quite how strong their leverage would be in talks with Brussels.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Keir Starmer chairs cabinet.
10am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, and Zia Yusuf, the party’s head of policy, hold a press conference.
10am: Kemi Badenoch and Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, hold a press conference.
11.30am: Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
After 12.30pm: MPs debate the Northern Ireland Troubles bill at second reading.
Afternoon: Keir Starmer flies to Berlin, where he is having dinner with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
