Robert Genrick has announced that the reform will completely restore the UK’s two-child benefit limit, in a major U-turn for the party that critics say will push hundreds of thousands of children into poverty.
In his first speech as the Reforms Treasury spokesman, Jenrick said the party had changed since Nigel Farage last year suggested he would scrap the two-child limit and that his party should go further to “encourage people to have children”.
As part of a full-frontal attack on benefits, the Mobility Scheme, which allows disabled people to lease a new car, scooter or powered wheelchair to stay independent, will be reformed to “end the abuse” where “expensive cars are handed out for conditions like tennis elbow and paid for by those who work”, Jenrick said.
Genrick said the reform would mean only British nationals could claim benefits under the UK government and people claiming benefits for “mild anxiety, depression and similar conditions” would be stopped. Those with mental health problems should have a clinical diagnosis “to eliminate those who choose life over benefits”.
In his speech in the City of London, Jenrick appeared to suggest he played a role in the policy change: “We want to help working families have more children. But right now, we can’t do that on welfare. So it has to happen.
“And, as the Reforms shadow chancellor, I am bringing it to an end. A reform government will restore [two-child benefit] A full cap.”
Asked what the reform government would do to help the 4.5 million children living in poverty, Genrique said the party wanted to ensure “people can have children” but “we can’t do that by spending more on benefits”. He added: “Somebody needs to inject some reality into this business.”
Reacting to the announcement, Keir Starmer called the move “disgraceful”. Writing on social media, the Prime Minister said: “I am very proud that this government has abolished the cruel two-child limit. The reform seeks to push hundreds of thousands of children into poverty.”
Asked about the U-turn after the press conference, Reform UK leader Farage said he only wanted to lift the two-child cap for working British families, but his efforts to be “family friendly” had “failed” and he was labeled a socialist as a result.
However, in an effort to allay market fears, Jenrik appeared to soften the party’s stance on its major financial institutions. He said the independence of the Bank of England would remain and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) would not be abolished.
Genrick’s stance appeared to contradict Farage’s previous statements, which called for politicians to have greater influence over the central bank, which was created independently by then-chancellor Gordon Brown in 1997. Farage has indicated he would replace its governor, Andrew Bailey, and impose his own choice if he becomes prime minister, and said he was “seriously considering” abolishing the OBR.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Farage said he “didn’t like the banks” and would scrap the interest payments lenders receive through the BoE’s quantitative easing programme. In November, he and his deputy Richard Tice launched a plan to spend £90 billion in tax cuts promised in the party’s 2024 election manifesto.
Genrick said the party was promising “financial stability” combined with “radical reform”, and that under a reform government, the Bank of England would be stripped of any role in moving the UK towards a sustainable future and “distractions loaded on it”.
Efforts to move towards net zero have become a “distraction” for the bank, he said, adding that he would reform the body by paying higher wages to super forecasters who “model the impact of Treasury decisions most accurately”.
Jenrick – who left the Conservative frontbench last month – accused the OBR of overestimating the benefits of low-skilled migration, adding that Reform UK was “happy to recognize its homework”.
“The OBR is not perfect, but the impetus for its creation was the desire to instill fiscal discipline, and we wholeheartedly endorse that,” he said.
Treasury Manta Mr Dan Tomlinson accused Jenrick of “trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes” and said the reform had made billions of pounds in unfunded spending commitments.
The shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, said the reform would be “not drastic” on the UK economy. “Jenrick said they were happy the Reformation had remembered their homework, although they had yet to explain the £10.5bn black hole in their pubs plan and when challenged on it, said they were ‘not interested in numbers’,” he said.
