Reform UK, led by newly installed leader Nigel Farage, has pledged to abandon net zero targets, fast track planning and change social housing allocation
Claiming that their document was a contract with the people, rather than a traditional political manifesto, Reform UK’s pledges include a raft of tax cuts and harsher stances on immigration.
Whilst these promises will be welcomed by some, industry voices have raised concerns about pledges being shallow promises in place of meaningful plans or accurate costings.
Reform UK’s manifesto promises to:
- “Prioritise local people and those who have paid into the system” when it comes to allocation social housing, going on to say “Foreign nationals must go to the back of the queue, not the front”.
- Scrap net zero and associated subsidies, which they say would save £30bn over 25 years.
- Fast-track planning and tax incentives for development of brownfield sites.
- Adopt a ‘Loose fit planning’ policy for large residential developments with pre-approved guidelines and developer requirements.
- Abolish the Renters Reform Bill.
- Fast-track licenses for gas and oil in the North Sea.
- “Incentivise innovation to speed up building”, with unspecified encouragement of modular construction, digital technology and building sites that improve efficiency and cut waste.
Tax reforms in the manifesto include raising the threshold for stamp duty on properties from £250,000 to £750,000, slashing corporation tax from 25% to 15% and lifting the VAT threshold for businesses from £90,000 to £120,000.
The industry response to the manifesto was lukewarm
“Even with the extremely optimistic assumptions about how much economic growth would increase, the sums in this manifesto do not add up,” the IFS said.
“Whilst Reform’s manifesto gives a clear sense of priority, a government could only implement parts of this package, or would need to find other ways to help pay for it, which would mean losers not specified.”
Colin Brown, head of planning and development at consultancy Carter Jonas, said that Reform’s aim to shake up the planning system was interesting but “there is no clarification as to what this might look like in practice”.
“Reform’s contract is far shorter than other manifestos and contains a lot less detail,” he added. “One senses it’s a rather rushed piece of work and Reform has other priorities which perhaps trump planning and housing.”
