Reform UK appears to be retreating from its bold promise to deliver £90billion in tax reductions, with deputy leader Richard Tice suggesting the party must reconsider its financial commitments.
Ahead of this weekend's Reform party conference, Tice indicated that the pledges made in their July 2024 manifesto were no longer suitable for future electoral contests.
The admission marks a significant shift for the party, which had positioned itself as champions of tax reform during last year's general election campaign.
This reversal comes as Reform UK gathers for its annual conference in Birmingham, following the high-profile defection of former Conservative minister Nadine Dorries on Thursday evening.
The deputy leader has back-tracked on the initial economic policies set out by Reform
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Their manifesto had pledged to liberate seven million workers from income tax by elevating the threshold to £20,000 annually, which would have reportedly saved each taxpayer nearly £1,500.
Business owners were promised equally generous reforms, with corporation tax set to fall from 25 per cent to 20 per cent, then further to 15 per cent by the third year.
Additional commitments included scrapping inheritance tax (IHT) or 98 per cent of estates valued below £2million and eliminating VAT on energy bills to address living costs.
Small enterprises would have benefited from an increased VAT threshold of £150,000 and the abolition of business rates for high street firms. The total cost of these measures was estimated at £90billion annually.
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| Nigel FarageReform UK had committed to exempting over 1.2 million small and medium enterprises from corporation tax by raising the profit threshold to £100,000. Self-employed workers would have seen IR35 regulations abolished, whilst entrepreneurs were promised a reduced tax rate of just five per cent.
The manifesto also outlined plans to eliminate stamp duty on properties below £750,000 and restore VAT refunds for tourists, which the party claimed would attract two million additional visitors.
Energy consumers were set to benefit from a 20p reduction in fuel duty and the removal of environmental levies.
Mr Tice now emphasises that financial reductions must follow comprehensive spending cuts and deregulation efforts, acknowledging Britain's precarious fiscal situation.
"We have to focus on the savings because regrettably the finances of this country are in terrible, terrible trouble," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
The deputy leader, who has hinted at ambitions to serve as chancellor, insisted that Reform UK would need to address whatever financial challenges exist when the next election arrives.
"Our promise is to save money, to cut regulations - we deliver on that, then we deliver direction of travel on tax cuts," he explained.
When pressed about whether the party's election commitments had been abandoned, Mr Tice maintained that savings must precede any tax reductions.
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They had originally pledged a complete overhaul of the tax system by slashing the size of Government
| GETTYThe strategic repositioning occurs as Reform UK convenes in Birmingham, buoyed by favourable polling despite the next general election potentially remaining distant.
Reform leader Nigel Farage is anticipated to urge members to prepare for an early contest within two years, predicting Labour's government will crumble under the weight of necessary spending reductions.
Mr Tice's comments align with new member Ms Dorries's advocacy for "drastically" reducing public expenditure, though he claimed this position had always been his stance.