Reform pledges £9bn welfare savings as Tories urged to apologise
Reform UK has laid out a smaller savings package on disability payments than one planned by the Tories as opposition parties vie to gain credibility on welfare reform.
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson, the party’s spokesman for welfare, set out plans on curbing personal independence payments (Pips) for under 25-year-olds and for people with “non-major anxiety”.
Party officials pointed to rising costs of Pips hitting one per cent of GDP, with Anderson saying the current system was “not fair on our taxpayer and not fair on young people”.
Proposals include restoring face-to-face assessments and introducing a therapy programme for some people with some mental health illnesses.
“The alarm clock generation is now being replaced by an anxiety generation,” Anderson said.
“We are committed to supporting the most vulnerable members of our society.
“We want to live in a fair society that helps keep people in the workplace even when they are going through a difficult time.”
Welfare savings battle
The plans are likely to raise eyebrows among Tory opposition figures after its leader Kemi Badenoch also used research by the right-leaning Centre for Social Justice in the summer.
The Tories have pledged a higher sum – £23bn – in welfare savings though that includes cutting benefits for migrants who have indefinite leave to remain (ILR), which Reform have also pledged.
The Labour government has also vowed to increase face-to-face assessments for Pips and are considering schemes to encourage employers to take on younger workers across the UK.
Data shows that most remote assessments have higher approval rates for claiming Pips than for face-to-face assessments.
The latest proposals set out by Reform are part of plans to make the party’s policies more credible in the eyes of voters and businesses, and to ensure manifesto pledges are readied ahead of an election being called.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Reform MP Danny Kruger said the opposition party would “have legislation drafted” to prepare for government.
Its party officials also suggested it would not make the same mistakes as Labour, which suffered a major backbencher rebellion over proposed changes to Pips and £5bn savings on welfare earlier this year.
Getting Reform candidates on message
Reform’s policy chief Zia Yusuf told City PM that it would show its manifesto proposals to all parliamentary candidates and ensure representatives are committed to the “values and principles” in its policy agenda.
Yusuf said elected MPs would have a “moral obligation” to commit to Reform’s proposals.
Anderson also hit out at the Tories for overseeing a rise in Pip claimants across the country and demanded that they apologise for letting welfare spending “under their watch absolutely spiral”.
Yusuf said: “The idea that the arsonists who burnt the house down can then turn up with great proposals is one of the most outrageous things”.