2024 manifesto · published 17 June 2024

What did Reform UK propose in 2024?

Large tax cuts, new spending commitments and reductions in other spending. Publishing a costings table did not resolve the independent challenge to its arithmetic and assumptions.

Evidence last reviewed 11 October 2026

The same seven issues and source fields are reviewed for all seven selected parties. This is a June 2024 Westminster-election baseline, not a statement of current policy or a forecast. Northern Ireland parties and later devolved-election manifestos are outside this comparison.

Seven issues, the same questions

These are summaries of proposals, not quotations or assessments of whether they were delivered. Open each issue for its mechanism, original estimates, timing and source.

Housing

Fast-track planning and tax incentives for brownfield development, reform social housing law to prioritise local people, scrap section 24 for landlords and abolish the Renters' (Reform) Bill. Separately, cut residential Stamp Duty to 0% below £750k.

Scope: Not specified in the document (housing and planning are devolved policy areas, so in practice England).

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
'Loose fit planning' with pre-approved guidelines for large developments; foreign nationals go to the back of the social housing queue; landlords may again deduct finance costs and mortgage interest; stronger monitoring and enforcement for renters; leases extendable to 990 years; incentives for modular construction.
Published cost
Housing pledges listed as cost neutral ("£ NEUTRAL"); the Stamp Duty cut sits on the Economy - Personal page, costed together at £70 billion PA.
Funding
Not stated
Timing
Planning review, social housing law and section 24 changes in the first 100 days; leaseholder protections and construction incentives thereafter.
What remains unclear
The document does not give a housebuilding number or explain how the measures net to zero cost.

Original manifesto · PDF p. 17 (printed p. 15); Stamp Duty PDF p. 7 (printed p. 5)

NHS

Zero basic rate tax for frontline NHS and social care staff for 3 years, 20% tax relief on private healthcare and insurance, and a voucher for private treatment when waiting-time limits are missed, with the aim of zero NHS waiting lists.

Scope: Not specified in the document (health is a devolved policy area; the tax measures would be UK tax changes).

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
End training caps for UK medical students; write off student fees pro rata over 10 years of NHS service; use independent and not-for-profit capacity in the UK and overseas; vouchers if no GP within 3 days, consultant within 3 weeks or operation within 9 weeks; weekend theatres and charges for missed appointments.
Published cost
NHS pledges costs = £17 billion PA (annualised over a 5-year term).
Funding
No source stated for this area specifically; the document's overall funding table (PDF p. 25) lists potential savings of £150 billion pa plus £10 billion pa of extra tax revenue from growth, set against total costs of £141 billion (PDF p. 26).
Timing
Staff tax measures, independent capacity and private healthcare tax relief in the first 100 days; voucher scheme and efficiency measures thereafter.
What remains unclear
IFS: £17 billion a year would not be close to enough to eliminate NHS waiting lists within two years.

Original manifesto · PDF p. 9 (printed p. 7); totals PDF pp. 4, 26

IFS scrutiny of this programme

Tax and spending

Raise the income tax starting point to £20,000 and start the higher rate at £70,000; abolish Inheritance Tax on estates under £2m; cut main Corporation Tax from 25% to 20%, then 15% from Year 3; cut departmental spending by £5 in every £100.

Scope: Not specified in the document; presented as UK-wide.

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
Basic rate stays at 20%; Corporation Tax profit threshold lifted to £100k; VAT threshold to £150,000; Stamp Duty cuts; the Bank of England would stop paying interest on QE reserves; foreign aid cut by 50%.
Published cost
Economy - Personal pledges £70 billion PA and Economy - Business pledges £18 billion PA; total cost of all pledges £141 billion, annualised over a 5-year term.
Funding
Potential savings of £150 billion pa, including £50 billion from departmental spending, £35 billion from QE reserves interest and £6 billion from foreign aid, plus £10 billion pa of extra tax revenue from growth.
Timing
Income tax threshold and Corporation Tax cut in the first 100 days; Corporation Tax to 15% from Year 3; business rates and tax simplification thereafter.
What remains unclear
IFS: the savings would raise less and the tax cuts cost more than stated, by tens of billions a year; corporation tax costings exclude about half the long-run cost.

Original manifesto · PDF pp. 6-8 (printed pp. 4-6); totals PDF pp. 25-26 (printed pp. 23-24)

IFS scrutiny of this programme

Work

A 2-strike rule under which job seekers must find work within 4 months or accept a job after 2 offers, or lose benefits; face-to-face benefit assessments; scrapping employment laws to make it easier to hire and fire.

Scope: Not specified in the document; presented as UK-wide.

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
Benefit support and training to move up to 2 million people back to work, focused on 16-34 year olds; independent medical assessments for PIP and Work Capability Assessment; tax relief for businesses offering apprenticeships; abolish IR35; raise employer National Insurance to 20% for foreign workers.
Published cost
Benefits pledges savings = £15 billion PA (annualised over a 5-year term).
Funding
Not stated
Timing
Benefit measures in the first 100 days; scrapping employment laws thereafter.
What remains unclear
The document does not name which employment laws would be scrapped, and its back-to-work figures differ (up to 2 million on p. 14, 1 million plus in the table on p. 25).

Original manifesto · PDF p. 14 (printed p. 12); hire and fire PDF p. 8 (printed p. 6); table PDF p. 25

Education

20% tax relief on independent education with no VAT on fees; scrap interest on student loans; a curriculum review for balance in history teaching; a ban on transgender ideology in schools.

Scope: Not specified in the document (schools are a devolved policy area, so in practice England; tax measures would be UK tax changes).

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
Extend student loan repayment periods to 45 years and restrict undergraduate numbers; pair teaching on British or European imperialism or slavery with a non-European example; double the number of Pupil Referral Units; universities to offer 2-year courses; funding cuts for universities that allow political bias.
Published cost
Education pledges costs = £5 billion PA (annualised over a 5-year term).
Funding
No source stated for this area specifically; the document's overall funding table (PDF p. 25) lists potential savings of £150 billion pa plus £10 billion pa of extra tax revenue from growth, set against total costs of £141 billion (PDF p. 26).
Timing
Curriculum, transgender policy, independent school tax relief and student loan changes in the first 100 days; university funding, PRUs and 2-year courses thereafter.
What remains unclear
The document does not break down the £5 billion between student loan interest, tax relief and other measures.

Original manifesto · PDF p. 13 (printed p. 11); totals PDF p. 26

Energy

Scrap Net Zero and related subsidies, including £10 billion a year of renewable energy subsidies; fast-track North Sea oil and gas licences and shale gas test sites; scrap VAT on energy bills and environmental levies to save households over £500 per year.

Scope: Not specified in the document; presented as UK-wide.

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
Remove renewable subsidies through equivalent taxes on them; shale licences on test sites for 2 years, then major production when safety is proven, with local compensation; lower fuel duty by 20p per litre; later fast-track Small Modular Reactors and UK lithium mining.
Published cost
Net Zero pledges savings = £30 billion PA (the document says over £30 billion per year for the next 25 years); the energy tax cuts sit within the Economy - Personal pledges, costed together at £70 billion PA.
Funding
Not stated
Timing
Scrapping Net Zero and subsidies and new oil, gas and shale licences in the first 100 days; nuclear and other new technology thereafter.
What remains unclear
The document does not cost the energy VAT, levy and fuel duty cuts separately or explain how the £30 billion saving is calculated.

Original manifesto · PDF p. 10 (printed p. 8); energy tax cuts PDF p. 7 (printed p. 5); core pledge PDF p. 4

Immigration

Freeze non-essential immigration, with essential skills (mainly healthcare) the only exception; leave the European Convention on Human Rights; detain illegal migrants and return small boats to France; raise employer National Insurance to 20% for foreign workers.

Scope: Not specified in the document; the measures concern UK borders, visas and National Insurance, so presented as UK-wide.

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
New Department of Immigration; asylum seekers arriving from safe countries processed rapidly, offshore if necessary, and barred from asylum or citizenship; no legal aid for non-citizens; bar student dependants; 5 years' residency and employment to claim benefits; deport foreign criminals after sentence. The NI rate for British workers stays at 13.8%, with health and care workers and businesses with 5 staff or fewer exempt.
Published cost
Immigration pledges savings = £5-10 billion PA; Employer Immigration Tax = £4bn PA (also described as more than £20 billion over five years). The summary table uses £5 billion for immigration savings.
Funding
Employer Immigration Tax revenue to pay for apprenticeships and training for young Brits.
Timing
All listed as critical reforms in the first 100 days.
What remains unclear
The document does not define 'non-essential' immigration beyond healthcare skills or set a number for net migration.

Original manifesto · PDF p. 5 (printed p. 3); table PDF p. 25 (printed p. 23)

What was costed, and who would pay?

The party published a costings table or separate document. This records publication, not independent validation, complete policy coverage or guaranteed funding.

Potential savings of £150 billion pa, including £50 billion from departmental spending, £35 billion from QE reserves interest and £6 billion from foreign aid, plus £10 billion pa of extra tax revenue from growth.

These are the party’s 2024 estimates, not today’s receipts or spending. Annual and whole-parliament amounts, different price bases and different geographies cannot be added or ranked as though they were the same.

  • Our Contract with YouOriginal manifesto, published 17 June 2024. Page references appear under each issue.

Independent scrutiny and implementation limits

Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2024-06-17

tax cuts the party estimates at nearly £90 billion a year and spending increases of £50 billion a year, which it says would be paid for by £150 billion a year of reductions in other spending (public services, debt interest, working-age benefits). Savings would be smaller and tax cuts costlier than stated by tens of billions of pounds a year, so the sums do not add up even on optimistic growth assumptions.

If Reform won power: what would implementation need to resolve?

These are the issues identified in the dated source review, not forecasts of markets, health outcomes or an election result. Later policies need a separate assessment.

Housing
The document does not give a housebuilding number or explain how the measures net to zero cost.
NHS
IFS: £17 billion a year would not be close to enough to eliminate NHS waiting lists within two years.
Tax and spending
IFS: the savings would raise less and the tax cuts cost more than stated, by tens of billions a year; corporation tax costings exclude about half the long-run cost.
Work
The document does not name which employment laws would be scrapped, and its back-to-work figures differ (up to 2 million on p. 14, 1 million plus in the table on p. 25).
Education
The document does not break down the £5 billion between student loan interest, tax relief and other measures.
Energy
The document does not cost the energy VAT, levy and fuel duty cuts separately or explain how the £30 billion saving is calculated.
Immigration
The document does not define 'non-essential' immigration beyond healthcare skills or set a number for net migration.

What happened at the election—and since?

These proposals were published for the July 2024 general election. Election results, present voting intention and government delivery are different measures; use the linked evidence pages for each.