What does reform UK stand for?

Reform UK is a right-wing populist party. It focuses on cutting immigration, leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, scrapping net zero targets and shrinking the state. It grew out of the Brexit Party. It won five seats at the 2024 general election and made big gains in the 2026 elections.

Reform UK was founded in 2018 as the Brexit Party and renamed in 2021. At the 2024 general election it won about 14% of the vote but only five seats under first past the post. It then gained control of several English councils in May 2025. In May 2026 it won 34 seats in the Senedd and 17 in the Scottish Parliament.

Its main policies include a large programme to detain and deport people who arrive illegally, and leaving the European Convention on Human Rights. It wants to replace the Human Rights Act with a British bill of rights. It pledges to scrap net zero targets, expand oil, gas and nuclear power, and reverse the 2025 rise in employer National Insurance. It promises tax cuts once finances allow.

Reform also proposes cutting tens of thousands of civil service jobs, ending benefits for foreign nationals and scrapping the Employment Rights Act. It supports replacing first past the post with proportional representation. Supporters see it as a voice for voters let down by the main parties. Critics question the cost of its plans and warn they could damage public services and community relations.

Led by Nigel Farage. Platform: a large income tax cut paid for by welfare and spending cuts, stopping small boat crossings, suspending asylum, leaving the ECHR, scrapping net zero and cutting energy bills.

Key pledges

• Raise the personal allowance to £15,000 within 100 days, rising later to £20,000
  The amount people can earn before paying income tax rises from £12,570 to £15,000, and later to £20,000.
• Reverse the inheritance tax changes for family farms
  Undo changes that put inheritance tax on large farms and family businesses passed on from April 2026.
• About £80bn of spending cuts, including around £50bn a year from welfare
  Cut public spending by about £80bn a year, with around £50bn from welfare.
• Bar foreign nationals, including EU citizens with settled status, from most benefits
  Most benefits would only be paid to British citizens, including taking them away from EU citizens with settled status.
• Change sickness and disability benefits to save about £22bn a year
  Change the rules for sickness and disability benefits to save about £22bn a year.
• Remove VAT from household energy bills permanently
  Remove the 5% VAT on household gas and electricity bills for good.
• Take policy costs off energy bills and scrap carbon taxes on generators, saving households £250 a year
  Move the costs of green and social schemes off energy bills and scrap carbon taxes on power stations.
• Fast-track new North Sea oil and gas licences
  Speed up the approval of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea.
• Scrap net zero targets and green subsidies
  Drop the legal target of net zero by 2050 and end subsidies for green energy.
• Stop small boat crossings within 100 days, and detain and deport people who arrive illegally
  Stop people crossing the Channel in small boats within 100 days, and detain and remove those who arrive.
• Suspend the asylum system for up to five years
  Stop handling asylum claims for up to five years.
• Leave the European Convention on Human Rights
  The UK would leave the European Convention on Human Rights and its court in Strasbourg.
• Abolish indefinite leave to remain, so migrants must apply for new visas after five years
  Scrap permanent settlement for migrants, so they must keep applying for new visas.
• Raise the salary threshold for work visas considerably and toughen English requirements
  Raise the minimum salary needed for a work visa well above the current £41,700 and make English requirements stricter.
• Keep the Bank of England independent but drop its net zero duties, and reform the OBR
  The Bank of England stays independent but no longer considers climate goals, and the official forecaster, the OBR, is reformed.
• Loosen planning rules and favour building on brownfield land
  Make planning rules easier and favour building on previously used land, such as old factories.