Likewise, Jenrick said taxes are “clearly too high” and promised to “build an economy that serves alarm clock Britain” — people who get up early for work — but was thin on the detail of any specific tax cuts.
Fundamental questions about the shape of policy or the economy under Reform have yet to be answered. Four groups are due to finish work in May on regulation, growth capital, pensions and savings, and tax. Farage and Tice have toyed with the idea of scrapping the “triple lock” (which guarantees large increases in the state pension) but have not reached a conclusion. Braverman said 50 percent of young people should enter manual trades, while Tice has suggested a complete overhaul of pensions for public sector workers; these policies are yet to be fleshed out.
At the same time, Farage’s appointees have their hands full — especially Tice, whose theoretical super-department would cover business, trade, energy and housing policy. He is also still in charge of Reform’s cost-cutting efforts in local councils.
Some basic questions about personnel remain unanswered, too. Yusuf did not clarify at Tuesday’s event whether his role as “head of policy” remains intact. And as neither an MP nor a member of the House of Lords, Yusuf — a tech-investing millionaire — will not be required to declare his outside interests while running Reform’s home affairs policy, which could lead to more scrutiny of him personally.
3) Farage is fighting hard in the culture wars
Farage and his allies continue to take a leaf out of U.S. President Donald Trump’s book, doling out hardline policies and rhetoric on contentious issues — and picking strategic fights with journalists.
Yusuf reiterated Reform’s plan for mass deportations, calling recent immigration the “most profound betrayal of the British electorate in history,” claiming people have “literally died” as a result. He promised that the U.K. would not just leave the European Convention on Human Rights, but “derogate from every international treaty that would otherwise then be used to frustrate and upend deportations.” That could be a long list.