Reform UK eyes a tax cut for nearly 40 million Brits as Robert Jenrick pledges to raise the personal allowance to £15,000 in his first Budget to end decade-long ‘stealth’ raid
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Reform UK has pledged to raise the tax-free personal allowance from £12,570 to £15,000 within the first 100 days of a Reform government, should the party win the next general election. The commitment, to be announced by would-be Chancellor Robert Jenrick at Reform's Birmingham conference, is aimed at reversing years of "stealth" tax rises caused by the freezing of thresholds under successive Labour and Conservative governments, a policy currently set to continue until 2031.
Reform says the change would save most taxpayers around £500 a year, benefit roughly 40 million people, lift 2.9 million out of income tax entirely, and keep the state pension untaxed. The party estimates the move would cost £17.7 billion in its first year, rising to £21 billion by year five, to be funded through £80 billion of spending cuts already identified, including reductions to welfare, Net Zero spending and foreign aid. Jenrick reaffirmed Reform's longer-term ambition of a £20,000 allowance and challenged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to match the pledge, as the party sought to move past a donations row that overshadowed the first day of its conference.
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In short
- Reform UK pledges to raise personal allowance to £15,000 in first 100 days
- Move would save most taxpayers about £500 annually, party says
- Funded by £80bn of proposed welfare, Net Zero and foreign aid cuts
How this story developed
- 2 months ago Reform UK has pledged to raise the tax-free personal allowance from £12,570 to £15,000 within the first 100 days of a Reform government, should the party win the next general election.
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The case for
Supporters argue that years of frozen thresholds have quietly dragged millions of low and middle earners into paying tax or higher rates, even as their wages simply kept pace with inflation, and that raising the personal allowance to £15,000 is a straightforward way to reverse this stealth taxation and let people keep more of what they earn. They see it as rewarding work, easing the cost-of-living squeeze for those on the lowest incomes by lifting nearly three million out of income tax altogether, and reflecting a broader principle that the state should take a smaller share of ordinary wages before it takes more from those with greater means. Framing it as funded by cuts to welfare, Net Zero spending and foreign aid also appeals to those who believe such areas carry more discretionary fat than taxing basic earnings does.
The case against
Sceptics accept that fiscal drag has increased the tax burden, but question whether £80 billion of spending cuts to welfare, Net Zero programmes and foreign aid are realistic, sufficiently detailed or achievable without serious harm to vulnerable claimants, environmental commitments and international obligations. They worry that a tax cut announced with such precision on cost but without independent verification, such as OBR scrutiny, echoes previous unfunded fiscal pledges that unsettled markets and public finances, and that the benefits, while proportionally larger for low earners, still deliver bigger absolute savings to higher earners under a flat allowance rise. For those prioritising fiscal caution, they would argue any threshold change of this scale should be tested against a fully costed, independently verified Budget rather than announced as a conference pledge.
Explained simply
Reform UK, the party led by Nigel Farage, is proposing a significant cut to income tax by raising the amount people can earn before paying any tax at all. This threshold, known as the personal allowance, has been frozen at £12,570 for several years under both Labour and Conservative governments, meaning more people have gradually been pulled into paying tax as wages rise, a process often called "fiscal drag" or a "stealth tax". Robert Jenrick, who would serve as Chancellor if Reform won power, is unveiling the pledge at the party's conference in Birmingham.
Reform does not currently hold power in Westminster, so this is a promise for a future government rather than a policy that will take effect soon. The party says it would fund the tax cut through cuts to areas such as welfare, environmental spending and foreign aid, though such costings are contested by rivals and independent analysts. The proposal matters because personal taxation and the cost of living remain among the most closely watched issues for voters ahead of the next general election.
Reform has been gaining support in opinion polls and is trying to position itself as a serious alternative to the two main parties, making its economic policies a focus of scrutiny. The pledge also comes as the party seeks to shift attention away from a separate controversy involving its funding, which had dominated coverage of the conference.
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- Daily MailRightReform UK eyes a tax cut for nearly 40 million Brits as Robert Jenrick pledges to raise the personal allowance to £15,000 in his first Budget to end decade-long ‘stealth’ raid
- Daily MailRightReform vows to raise tax-free personal allowance to £15,000 within 100 days of winning power as Robert Jenrick pledges to 'get Britain standing again'
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