Nigel Farage has been accused of risking a trade war with Europe over plans to strip European Union citizens for claiming benefits in the UK.
The Reform UK is holding a press conference to claim he would end Universal Credit payments for EU citizens – boasting it will save around £6billion. But the move would rip up the Brexit deal negotiated by the Tories, which entitles citizens from the EU with settled status to claim certain benefits.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is also due to hold a press conference with just over a week to go until Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers the Budget.
Follow all the latest updates below
‘I can’t tell councils what to’ on tax, Nigel Farage protests
Reform-led council’s should only increase council tax by inflation, Nigel Farage has insisted.
The Reform UK leader said “we can’t tell them what to do”, but insisted: “I would very, very much hope any council tax hikes would be limited to inflation.”
The maximum councils are allowed to put council tax up without a referendum is 5% – and some Reform-led councils have already suggested they will do so.
Nigel Farage responds to Shabana Mahmood telling him to ‘sod off’
Nigel Farage has given his response to the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood telling him to “sod off”.
He says: “Well she seems to quite like using bad language… for her to say, she’s not in the least bit interested in what Reform has to say… They are obsessed.
“If Reform didn’t exist, would she have made those announcements yesterday? No, she wouldn’t have.”
Nigel Farage says he agrees ‘with a lot’ of Shabana Mahmood’s comments on asylum
Nigel Farage said hisparty would “rhetorically” agree with much of the Government’s asylum overhaul. The Reform UK leader told a central London press conference: “Despite her protestations, I thought a lot of what Shabana Mahmood said yesterday was driven directly by fear that Labour are losing votes to Reform. And rhetorically we would agree with a lot of what the Home Secretary said.”
He quipped it might have been a pitch by Ms Mahmood to be the “next defector” to Reform (last night the Home Secretary told him to “sod off”).
Nigel Farage grilled on cost of trade retaliation with EU
Asked by the BBC whether the EU would renegotiate the withdrawal agreement – or the cost of a trade war with Brussels – Mr Farage doesn’t answer the question.
Instead, the Reform UK leader says the relationship with Europe is “hopelessly out of kilter”.
Major benefit cut proposals outlined by Reform UK – but there’s a key problem
Nigel Farage says there are “enormous costs” to the benefits system – as he proposes “radical cuts”, including for EU citizens.
Reform’s head of policy Zia Yusuf says British citizens shouldn’t “bear the brunt” of any Budget measures next week.
He says Universal Credit payments should no longer be paid to “foreign nationals”, which he claims would save the Treasury £6billion.
EU citizens with settled status would be given a three-month notice period before their benefits end, Reform UK adds.
But his plan to rip up the Brexit treaty – by ending benefits for EU citizens with settled status – would likely lead to a trade war with Europe, pushing up prices in British shops.
Nigel Farage holding press conference ahead of next week’s Budget
The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is holding a press conference in London this morning with just over a week to go until Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget.
He claims the markets are “nervous” and says Liz Truss found out to her detriment back in 2022 (despite praising the disastrous mini-Budget at the time).
Reform UK’s Richard Tice accused of spreading ‘lies’ about kids in speech
Reform UK’s deputy leader has been accused of spreading “lies” about children with special educational needs and disabilities after spouting controversial claims.
Richard Tice yesterday claimed there has been an “over-diagnosis” of kids with SEND and said it was “insane” to see children wearing ear defenders in classrooms. Experts reacted with fury at the claims and warned “Reform have no understanding of the education system”.
The Boston and Skegness MP also suggested some parents were trying to make money through the SEND system. He said middle class families were “playing the game” by allegedly trying to save VAT on private school fees by getting an exemption through the SEND system.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK ‘risking trade war’ with plan to strip EU citizens of benefits
Nigel Farage has been accused of risking a trade war with Europe over plans to strip European Union citizens for claiming benefits in the UK.
The Reform UK leader will use a press conference later today to say he would end Universal Credit payments for EU citizens – boasting it will save around £6billion. But the move would rip up the Brexit deal negotiated by the Tories, which entitles citizens from the EU with settled status to claim certain benefits.
Labour claimed the move would lead to a trade war between the UK and Brussels – pushing up prices on the shelves for British shoppers.Read more here