Borrowing a page from the political playbook of U.S President Donald Trump, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has vowed to scrap tax on overtime as his party seeks to cement itself as the “true party of the workers” in Britain.
The Brexit boss said on Saturday that if given power, Reform UK would abolish the income tax on overtime hours above the standard 40-hour work week for anyone earning less than £75,000 per year, which accounts for over 90 per cent of the working population.
According to the populist party, the move is expected to cost around £5 billion per year, however, Reform said that it would be paid for from the upwards of £40 billion it plans on saving by cutting wasteful spending, rollinng back the green agenda, slashing foreign aid, and ending welfare for migrants, among other initiatives.
Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Farage said that during the recent local elections — in which his party stormed to a historic victory — voters expressed a “deep frustration” that even when they put in extra hours, they still struggle at the end of the month and thus feel as tho “hard work in this country simply doesn’t pay.”
“Benefits often match or beat what they earn and that ordinary families are being dragged into higher tax bands with nothing to show for it. Meanwhile, they see a Labour Government, stuffed with human rights lawyers who are obsessed with rejoining the EU and net zero lunacy, which has absolutely no understanding of their day-to-day struggles. More significantly perhaps, they also feel that the party that was once on the side of workers is now more on the side of welfare,” he wrote.
Mr Farage said that Labour no longer represents the labour vote, and that only Reform UK represents the interest of the “patriotic working-class”
“If we are going to turn around Britain’s economy, it must be a collective endeavour. That means incentivising our workforce and making sure their hard graft is properly rewarded,” he argued.
The announcement of the plan, which resembles a similar initative implemented by President Donald Trump in his “Big Beautiful Bill” last year, comes as Reform finds itself on the campaing trail again.
Following Labour’s disastrous performance earlier this month in the local elections, the knives came out for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, with many in the party calling for him to be replaced as leader. However, the PM’s top rival, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, is currently ineligeable to take over given that he does not have a seat in the House of Commons. To solve this, former anti-Breitbar activist Josh Simons resigned from his post in Makerfield to allow for a special by-election in which Burnham could run for Parliament.
Despite having governed the area for nearly a decade as mayor, the veteran Labour insider appears to be in a dead heat with Reform’s relatively unknown candidate, Councillor Rob Kenyon, a local self-employed plumber and former Army reservist.
According to a poll of the constituency by Survation, Labour currently holds a slight lead at 43 per cent, followed closely by Reform at 40 per cent, the Daily Mail reported. Meanwhile, Rupert Lowe’s breakaway Restore Britain stands at 7 per cent, the Liberal Democrats at 4 per cent, the Greens at 3 per cent and the Conservatives at just 2 per cent.
Urging right-wing voters to rally around the Reform flag during the by-election, Mr Farage said that the poll demonstrated that it is a “two-horse race” and that “Robert Kenyon is the only candidate who can stop Andy Burnham.”
Should Reform pull off a surprise victory and win the seat, it would be a major setback for Labour and show that its difficulties in working-class, Brexit backing “Red Wall” regions of the country are likely here to stay. However, even a loss would likely redound to the benefit of the Farage party given that it would immediately spark a leadership contest within Labour that could potentially see Prime Minister Starmer ousted.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: [email protected]
Read the full article here