Nigel Farage has announced his intentions to abandon the two-child benefit cap, resulting in over £3bn of new spending.
In his speech at a recent conference, the Reform UK leader emphasised that the party does ‘not support a benefits culture’ but believes ‘lifting the two-child cap is the best thing to do’ to help lower-paid workers have children.
The benefit cap ensures means-tested benefits cannot be claimed by families with three children, or children born after April 2017, a policy that would cost roughly £3.5bn to remove.
Farage also pledged to improve tax breaks for married couples and reverse winter fuel payment cuts, amounting to costs of up to £80bn a year.
Following Farage’s speech, Reform UK has been accused of making ‘huge unfunded spending pledges’ by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, whilst Labour Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves labelled Farage’s proposals ‘fantasy promises’.
‘As it stands, I don't think they've really set out how they would pay for such big giveaways’, added Stuart Adam, senior economist at Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank.
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