Reform rips up its contract

This week has been filled with speculation around whether or not the Chancellor will break Labour’s promise not to raise taxes on working people. However, you would be forgiven for missing that elsewhere, another manifesto was sent to the shredder.

Earlier this week, WFW were in the City of London to hear Nigel Farage finally confirm Reform’s ‘Contract with the People’, made in the run-up to the last General Election, was no more. The contract pledged to slash taxes immediately if a Reform Government were to win power, but after seeing the latest economic stats and coming to terms with the realities of governing local authorities, Reform has finally ditched the pledge and committed to lowering taxes as soon as they can afford it. The move was seen as the next step in Reform’s journey of professionalising its operation and becoming a real force across the country.

So, with Labour and Reform looking to ditch promises to voters, have the two parties made a fatal error and will the voters ever forgive them? Similarly, will voters even care?

It is too soon to tell, and of course, we are still waiting for Rachel Reeves' Budget (we still have two weeks to go) so it isn’t known exactly what she will announce. But following the Chancellor’s recent pitch rolling announcement, it is priced in that tax rises are on the way. For the Government and for Reform, the positive is we are still firmly mid-term in the Parliamentary cycle so both sides have at least three years to rebuild trust with the electorate. Reform will be very conscious to not be seen as part of the “uniparty” - a label which would undermine their image of being the disruptor of the Westminster system.

For the Conservatives, current polling shows the voters still haven’t forgiven them for their time in power and the not inconsiderable list of broken promises. But could all of this provide an opportunity for Kemi Badenoch’s struggling party? Before Liz Truss broke onto the scene, the Conservatives were always known as the party of economic reliability. Labour worked hard to retake the title during their time in opposition and throughout the election, but given the current situation and wave of headlines facing the Government, it is again up for the taking. Badenoch could use the current situation to rebuild the party’s reputation and position itself as the vanguard of economic competence once more. But this also depends on one major thing - the public needs to want to listen to what Badenoch and the Conservatives have to say. That in itself could be the biggest challenge of all.