Former CLS chief executive Richard Tice laid out his Reform UK party’s manifesto this afternoon, promising planning reforms, the abolition of business rates for high street-based SMEs and inheritance tax for estates under £2m, the slashing of red tape and incentivising modular construction.
Tice, who also runs real estate investment firm Quidnet, is leader of Reform UK alongside Nigel Farage.
Launching what the pair called “Our contract with you”, Reform UK said it was the “common sense choice” for the UK, claiming that both Labour and Conservative governments had made the UK worse off.
“The economy is being wrecked by record high taxes, record high national debt, wasteful government spending and nanny state regulations,” said the pair. “The Tories have broken Britain. Labour will bankrupt Britain. A vote for either is a vote for more incompetence, dishonesty and defeat.”
Instead, Reform UK believes it can “unleash real economic growth”.
Property pledges in the manifesto include cutting stamp duty to 0% on purchases of £750,000 or less, to 2% on purchases in the £750,000-£1.5m bracket and to 4% on purchases above that threshold. The party believes this would “substantially boost” economic activity and housebuilding.
It also wants to abolish inheritance tax on estates of £2m or less. Other tax changes pledged include reducing corporation tax to 20% and abolishing business rates for high street-based SMEs, while creating a 4% online delivery tax for large multinationals – a move it believes would create a fairer playing field for high streets.
The planning system would also be reformed under Reform, with new housing on brownfield sites and infrastructure projects fast-tracked, with a particular focus on coastal regeneration area, Wales, the North and the Midlands.
When it comes to housing, Reform is promising that it would “ensure that people can own their own home by unleashing housebuilding across the country”. It wants to scrap section 24 for landlords – meaning they would no longer have to pay tax on gross rental income – abolish the Renters’ Reform Bill and incentivise the use of modular construction.
Colin Brown, head of planning & development at Carter Jonas said: “Like the other parties, Reform is prioritising brownfield development by fast-tracking development proposals and providing fiscal incentives. The party acknowledges the need for planning reform and has referenced “loose fit” requirements for other large-scale residential developments but there is no clarification as to what this might look like in practice.”
He added: “Reform’s contract is far shorter than other manifestos and contains a lot less detail. For example, there is no new homes target or comment on regional planning or the green belt. One senses it’s a rather rushed piece of work and Reform has other priorities which perhaps trump planning and housing.”
The UK Green Building Council picked up on the party’s plans to scrap net zero plans.
“Scrapping climate action isn’t a cost saver,” said head of policy at UKGBC Louise Hutchins. “It would pull the rug out from communities and businesses across the country for whom this is their best hope for an injection of investment to revive their hollowed out high streets, public buildings and public spaces and to protect them from the misery of flooding.”
Rico Wojtulewicz, head of policy and market insight at the National Federation of Builders, said: “On the surface, there are sensible suggestions; however, some of the policies put forward follow the old failed, politically expedient approaches we are currently fighting against, such as brownfield first. There is also a major issue regarding net zero before industry has spent billions readying itself, so scrapping it may cause financial black holes for British businesses.”
He added: “As a draft document, it did offer a strong insight into Reforms direction and of course lifting VAT thresholds, cutting Stamp Duty and reducing business related taxes are sensible but we will be interested to see whether NFB’s comments to the Reform ‘Contract’ team will be embraced as recommendations from the UK’s most expert constructors, or end up ignored as they pose a challenge to a political vision.”
Photo by Finbarr Webster/Shutterstock
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