Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party, has declared the 2024 general election should focus on immigration, revealing his party’s proposals in South Wales. Farage called for a “freeze” on non-essential immigration, attributing the NHS waiting lists and housing crisis to high immigration levels.
He criticized other parties for avoiding the topic and presented his document as a “contract” rather than a manifesto, associating the term “manifesto” with dishonesty.
Farage, a prominent Eurosceptic and former MEP, emphasized immigration as the central issue, claiming that reducing immigration would help the country recover culturally and economically.
Despite acknowledging Reform as a new party, he outlined ambitions to gain a foothold in Parliament and eventually challenge Labour dominance by 2029. Farage stressed the need for a strong opposition capable of mobilizing large numbers of people.
Farage Calls for Immigration Freeze and Bold Reforms in 2024 Election Campaign
The Reform Party’s core pledges include freezing non-essential immigration, deporting individuals crossing the Channel in small boats, cutting back office waste, giving tax breaks to healthcare professionals, and eliminating NHS waiting lists. The party also aims to scrap Net Zero targets and revert to fossil fuels, unlock the UK’s remaining oil and gas reserves, and withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.
Financially, Reform’s proposed tax cuts and spending increases amount to nearly £140bn annually. To fund these, the party suggests savings of £150bn through measures such as stopping the Bank of England’s interest payments on quantitative easing reserves, cutting bureaucracy, scrapping net zero policies, reducing the foreign aid budget, and encouraging benefit claimants to work.
However, experts have criticized these proposals. Carl Emmerson from the Institute for Fiscal Studies labeled the package problematic, doubting the feasibility of the proposed savings and growth assumptions. Tax Policy Associates’ Dan Neidle highlighted a significant unfunded cost in the Reform UK contract, suggesting the financial projections are overly optimistic and unrealistic.
