Reform UK Plans Easier Child Benefits, Pensioner Fuel Payment Reversal

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has proposed policies aimed at making it easier for people to have children, including scrapping the two-child benefit limit and offering more generous tax breaks for married couples. Farage emphasized that lifting the benefit cap is intended to support lower-paid workers rather than promote a benefits culture, and he also pledged to reverse cuts to the winter fuel payment for pensioners. His party's plan includes raising the income tax threshold to £20,000, with funding purportedly coming from scrapping net-zero climate initiatives, ending diversity programs in the public sector, stopping hotel accommodations for asylum seekers, and reducing quangos. These proposals have drawn criticism, with Liberal Democrat Sir Ed Davey calling them "huge unfunded spending pledges" reliant on vague savings. The debate unfolds amid wider political pressure on the government over spending decisions, including cuts to disability benefits, and discussions within Labour about abolishing the two-child benefit cap despite concerns over the costs. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has acknowledged the government is considering lifting the cap but noted it would be expensive, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has announced plans to ease cuts to winter fuel payments without full details on implementation.