Nigel Farage has suggested that the minimum wage may be “too high” for younger workers, as he laid out Reform’s vision for the UK economy.
The Reform leader, speaking in the City of London on Monday morning, also revealed he was abandoning plans for tax cuts that were a central part of the party’s previous manifesto – and refused to commit to the triple lock on pensions.
Asked whether he thought the minimum wage was too high, Mr Farage said: “There’s an argument the minimum wage is too high for younger workers.
“Particularly given that we’ve lowered the level at which NIC [national insurance] is paid to £5,000 a year.
“So do one or the other, do one or the other – either lift the cap at which NI is due, or lower the minimum wage for young workers.”
The minimum wage is currently £12.21 for workers aged 21 and over, and £10 for those between 18 and 20.
For people aged under 18 or who are on an apprentice rate, the minimum is £7.55.
Mr Farage was also asked what his push to cut spending would mean for the triple lock on pensions and income tax thresholds.
The Reform leader responded: “How can anybody project on pensions, or thresholds, or any of those things between now and then.
“What we will do, and what we can do, is use whatever muscle we’ve got to fight and urge this government to change direction, to ease the burden on small businesses being just one example.”
Under the triple lock guarantee, the state pension increases every April in line with whichever is the highest of total earnings growth in the year from May to July of the previous year, consumer prices index (CPI) inflation in September of the previous year, or 2.5 per cent.
The speech came ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Budget at the end of this month, in which she is expected to bring in tax rises to try and balance the country’s books. Mr Farage predicted a general election by 2027, caused by “economic collapse”.
He told the audience in the City that he predicted in two Budgets’ time the chancellor would be “forced” by “markets” into policies that mean the “left of the Labour Party won’t buy it”.
“It’s why I stand by my prediction that there will be a general election caused by economic collapse that will happen in 2027”.
Mr Farage also said that his party “want to cut taxes” but they are “not realistic at this current moment in time”.
Reform’s manifesto in the lead-up to last year’s general election committed the party to tax cuts worth around a third of the NHS budget, including raising the personal allowance to £20,000, introducing a £100,000 tax-free allowance for companies and exempting some high street firms from business rates.
At the time, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the plans, along with £50bn of spending commitments and £150bn of cuts, were “problematic” and cost far more than Reform claimed.
Speaking at the event on Monday, Mr Farage said: “We want to cut taxes, of course we do.
“But we understand substantial tax cuts, given the dire state of debt and our finances, are not realistic at this current moment in time.”
However he said there “are still relatively modest things we would do,” pointing to removing inheritance tax from family farms.
