Reform UK has unveiled a major economic pledge, promising to raise the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000 if the party wins the next general election. Robert Jenrick, the party’s economic spokesman, announced the initiative at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham, stating he intends to implement the tax cut within his first 100 days as chancellor.
Insiders within the party describe the proposal as the flagship announcement of the conference and potentially its most significant tax policy ahead of the upcoming election. Reform estimates that increasing the threshold by £2,430 would save most taxpayers approximately £500 annually, while allowing 2.9 million people to stop paying income tax entirely.
The party acknowledges the policy would cost £17.7bn in the first year, rising to £21bn by the fifth year. To offset this, Reform proposes £80bn in public spending cuts. These include a £50bn reduction in welfare spending, with half of that targeted at disability benefits and benefits for foreign nationals, while maintaining current spending levels on state pensions, which currently consume half of the total welfare budget.
Additional savings are expected from scrapping net-zero programmes (£10bn), reducing the civil service workforce (£8bn), and capping the foreign aid budget at £7.1bn.
In his address to conference activists, Jenrick criticized the current political handling of the personal allowance. He highlighted that the threshold has remained frozen at £12,500 since 2021, a move he claimed was extended until 2031 by the Labour government. “1.3 million were dragged into paying tax last year alone. Why? Because the tax-free allowance has been stuck at 12 and a half grand since 2021,” Jenrick said.
He further argued that the freeze impacts low-income workers severely, costing a full-time minimum wage worker more than £750 a year, and noted for the first time that it results in the taxation of state pensions, which he called “a disgrace.”
While the £15,000 target is the immediate goal, Jenrick confirmed that lifting the threshold to £20,000 remains the party’s long-term ambition, a position previously outlined in Reform’s 2024 general election manifesto.
The announcement comes as other political figures acknowledge the public frustration surrounding the frozen allowance. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the Times that concerns from his Makerfield constituency about the freeze had “lodged in my mind.” However, he later cautioned that any changes would be “difficult given the financial circumstances,” despite promising that the issue would be reviewed in the upcoming Budget.
Finally, someone addressing the invisible tax on minimum wage workers. This could really help families struggling with cost of living.
£80bn in cuts sounds generous on paper, but where exactly are these savings coming from? The details feel vague at best.
I never thought I’d see the day I pay zero income tax! Would love to hear how they plan to protect essential services with those cuts.
Freezing the allowance since 2021 is outrageous. Good to see politicians finally acknowledging this hidden tax increase affects everyday people.