Reform UK last week built on its success at last year’s general election by gaining its first regional mayor in Andrea Jenkyns, 677 council seats, several English councils, and winning the Runcorn byelection.
The party’s unprecedented success at the polls last week poses a real threat the the Labour government and could see Reform UK replace the Conservatives as the main opposition party by the next election. Reform took most seats from the Tories, who lost 674, while Labour lost 187.
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, said Nigel Farage’s party was being treated as a “serious opposition force”.
“I think Reform is definitely a real threat and one that we take seriously. I think there’s clearly, on the right of British politics, a realignment taking place,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not yet clear whether at the next general election it will be Reform or the Conservatives that are Labour’s main challengers, but we’ve got to take that threat seriously. In that spirit, I think Reform does deserve more airtime and scrutiny of their policies.”
With Reform UK now in control of 10 councils – Kent, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, North and West Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Doncaster, Lancashire and Durham – and growing increasingly popular across many other parts of the county, there is no doubt that their policies will come under greater scrutiny, whilst also having an increasing influence on some of the decisions other parties make, including some of the current Labour government’s policies.
So what has Reform UK promised so far when it comes to housing?
Reform UK last year said that, if elected at the general election, they would bring in key changes within 100 days, including the promise to abolish the Section 24 tax system for landlords, which was introduced in 2015 and prevented landlords from tax deducting finance costs and mortgage interest from tax on rental income.
The party also pledged to “restore landlords’ rights” in a bid to attract greater investment in the private rented sector – thus increasing much-needed rental supply.
Reform UK also vowed to protect leaseholders and ensure all potential charges to both leaseholders and freehold residents are “clearly stated and consented to”.
It also promised to make it cheaper and easier to extend leases to 990 years and buy freeholds.
In addition, Farage’s party committed to raising the tax-free personal allowance to £20,000, change the higher-rate income tax bracket threshold to £70,000, and scrap stamp duty on all home purchases up to £750,000 and reduce the rates for more expensive properties.
An inheritance tax overhaul was also mooted; the party wants to scrap the tax for estates worth £2m or less.
Reform UK is already making headlines when it comes to housing. The party over the weekend vowed to use “every instrument of power” to resist housing people seeking asylum in areas where it now controls councils.
Reform UK vows to resist housing asylum seekers in its council areas
