Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer have been compared to “drunken sailors” in a blistering takedown of Labour’s economic policy ahead of the Budget.
Speaking to GB News, Reform UK’s Head of Doge Zia Yusuf hit out at the Chancellor’s fiscal plan and warned of a “real economic crisis”.
Delivering his speech to Britons this morning, Nigel Farage described the “disconnect” between Westminster and what is happening in the economy as a “gaping chasm”.
The Reform leader said: “We believe that the fundamental problem behind so much of this – and yes of course there are global trend, yes of course these things are problems – but there is a fundamental problem at the heart of the way this country is run.”
Zia Yusuf hit out at Labour’s ‘drunken sailors’ in a blistering takedown of Rachel Reeves’ fiscal policy
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GB NEWS / PA
Speaking to GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope, Mr Yusuf said of Reform’s plan: “Nigel was crystal clear that if he’s our next Prime Minister, you’re going to see a Reform Government that restores the public finances.
“We’ve had the Tories and Labour, they’ve wrecked the public finances over decades. You think the Tories, 14 years in Government, they ran a deficit in every single one of those 14 years. They tripled the national debt and they blew up people’s mortgages for good measure.”
Taking aim at the Chancellor, he added: “Look at Rachel Reeves now, according to Capital Economics, after her Budget, imminently, she will have raised taxes at a faster rate than any Chancellor in 55 years.
“The tax burden on people watching this programme is already at the highest level since World War Two. Unemployment is at four year highs and sadly, we take no pleasure in saying this.”
Stressing that the “warning signs are flashing” under Labour’s economy, Mr Yusuf explained: “We’ve got to be real. We have drunken sailors still at the tiller of this great ship of the United Kingdom, and as a result of that, the warning signs with regards to sovereign debt are flashing.
“Our 30 year borrowing costs are at multi-decade highs, every week seemingly at GB News, you report on a major multinational pulling investment from the United Kingdom. So yes, we will cut spending.
“We’ve already announced tens of billions in cuts in spending, number one, by prioritising British citizens over foreign nationals, the opposite of what the Tories did and what Labour are doing. But also we will restore the public finances, restore confidence in Britain. That is the foundation upon which we can then cut taxes for people watching this programme.”
Pressed on when the tax cuts would happen under a Reform Government, the Head of Doge responded: “Well, that’s all going to depend on the state of the economy at the next general election.
“Again, we’ve got to be realistic. Nigel is the bookie’s favourite to be the next Prime Minister, and we are well ahead in pretty much every single poll that comes out. So as much as we would love for there to be a general election tomorrow and for Nigel to be the Prime Minister, it’s not going to happen.”
Mr Yusuf told GB News that the ‘warning signs are flashing’ for Britain’s economy
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GB NEWS
He added: “We are several years out, so we are doing the mature, responsible thing. Everybody remembers what happens if you announce lots of tax cuts that sound great at the time, without taking stock of the reality of the sovereign debt crisis that potentially now is looming for the United Kingdom.
“So yes, we want to cut taxes, but we can’t commit to a time frame until we know when the general election is and the state of the finances of the country.”
Concluding that there is a “real chance of economic crisis” for Britons, he stated: “Only Keir Starmer can actually trigger the election, and there’s an argument it’s turkeys voting for Christmas. But I think there’s a real chance of a real economic crisis in this country.
“People watching this programme already know their cost of living is intolerable. Rents keep going up, 36 per cent now of people’s take home pay is spent in on on rent, 40 per cent in London. Mortgages never seem to go down, the weekly shop seems to go up on a weekly basis, and energy bills. Let’s not even get started on energy bills.”