Reform UK stands ready to fix Britain, Nigel Farage has told readers of the Express, in an exclusive letter that sees the party’s leader pledge to be on the side of working people. The intervention comes after the Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her “tax-raising Budget”.
Mr Farage, who is the favourite to be Britain’s next Prime Minister according to successive months of opinion polling, said that he takes the prospect of entering Number 10 “seriously” as he said his party was “building a team to turn our economy around”. He said that any Government he would leave would “not be full of career politicians”, but instead made up of “people who have done things in the real world, who know how money is made and should be spent”.
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Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage told Express readers he would not let them down (Image: Getty Images)
In the letter, he took aim at other parties, saying that “clueless politicians have never run a business and have no idea how the real world works”. Mr Farage said that he would not be surprised if a “financial crisis causes an early General Election”.
Reform UK, he said, would be ready in such an eventuality, and would defend Britons who work hard and pay their taxes, and “keep this country running”.
He bemoaned the state of the country, saying that the economy was “in desperate trouble” and said that Express readers could “see for yourself that nothing works anymore”.
With growth slow, and energy prices higher than most other countries, Mr Farage took aim at taxes, which are at a post-war high, as well as the treasury having to fork out £100billion a year just to pay off debts.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is the favourite to be the country’s next PM (Image: PA)
And he criticised uncontrolled levels of immigration, which Mr Farage said was “draining our nation”.
In the solemn pledge to readers of this paper, he said these grim statistics were the “record of 14 years of Conservative Government” and then questioned what “side are Labour on?”
He urged readers to recall that they have spent 18 months “coming for pensioners, homeowners, savers, small businesses, anybody aspiring for a better life” as he blasted “even if [Labour] promise something today, they will take it away tomorrow”.
Mr Farage said that Reform would “strive to make work pay” and added that they would always be on the side of small and family-run businesses. He pledged to “reduce the bloated welfare state” as well as raise the threshold where people start to pay income tax “as soon as possible”.
He also promised to bring down energy bills by “scrapping crazy Net Zero targets”.
Mr Farage ended his pledge to our readers, saying that his party will be ready in time for the next election, with a plan to “make Britain once again the best place to start a business, raise a family and build a future”.
“I will not let you down,” wrote Mr Farage.
The letter, which features in the Daily Express in full, marks the first from the leader of Reform UK to readers of this paper since the last General Election.
It comes as Reform UK revealed that they have spent £1 million on campaigning ahead of the Autumn Budget.
The spend, which highlights the growing level of support the party has been enjoying from businesses, donors and members of the public, has gone towards double-page spread ad buys, landmark press conferences, and targeted digital ads.
Reform UK has also spent considerable sums on its landmark press conferences, including the launch of Small Business for Reform at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London, which was attended by 300 small and medium-sized business owners and featured a keynote speech from Checkatrade founder Kevin Byrne.
This launch resulted in more than 3,000 small businesses backing Reform’s campaign to cut red tape and regulation, and more support for British SMEs.
As part of the party’s pre-budget campaign, Deputy Leader Richard Tice made a keynote address to business leaders at Bloomberg, and Head of Policy Zia Yusuf addressed members of the CBI at their annual conference.
Read Nigel Farage’s Letter to Express Readers as Reform ‘Stands Ready to Fix Britain’
Nigel Farage used a highly publicised letter to Daily Express readers to present Reform UK as a party ready to take responsibility for Britain’s economic problems, arguing that the country needs a fundamental change in political direction.
The letter appeared on November 27, 2025, one day after Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her Budget. Farage used the intervention to attack both Labour and the Conservatives, while outlining several of the policies Reform UK says it would pursue if given the opportunity to govern.
His message was deliberately direct. Farage argued that Britain was suffering from weak economic growth, high taxation, expensive energy, excessive regulation and what he described as uncontrolled immigration. He told readers that Reform UK was preparing a team and a programme that would attempt to address those issues.
The letter was not simply an economic assessment. It was also a political statement about Reform’s ambitions and Farage’s intention to portray his party as an alternative to the two parties that have dominated British government for decades.
Farage’s warning about Britain’s economy
Farage began his letter with a stark assessment of Britain’s economic position.
He argued that the British economy was “in desperate trouble” and claimed that ordinary people could see that many aspects of the country were no longer working properly. His argument focused on several indicators that he believes demonstrate long-term economic weakness.
Among the issues he highlighted were slow growth, high energy costs, taxation and the cost of servicing government debt. He also criticised the scale of immigration, arguing that high levels of migration were placing additional pressure on Britain’s resources.
These are political interpretations rather than a single objective measure of economic performance.
Britain’s economy was facing genuine challenges in late 2025, including weak productivity growth, relatively high government debt and pressure on public finances. However, the causes of those problems and the appropriate solutions remain matters of considerable political and economic debate.
Farage’s letter therefore sought to connect individual household frustrations with his wider argument that successive governments had failed to make sufficiently radical changes.
An attack on both Labour and the Conservatives
One of the most important elements of the letter was Farage’s criticism of both major established parties.
He argued that the Conservatives had been responsible for many of the problems Reform was now promising to address. He also questioned Labour’s economic priorities after its first year and a half in government.
Farage presented Reform as something different from both parties.
His message was that voters should not see the next political contest simply as a choice between Labour and the Conservatives. Instead, he wanted readers to consider Reform UK as a potential governing party with its own economic programme.
This argument has become central to Farage’s political strategy.
Rather than presenting Reform merely as a protest movement, he has increasingly emphasized the party’s preparations for government, including recruitment of candidates, development of policies and efforts to establish relationships with businesses and other professional groups.
The Express letter formed part of that wider effort.
“Make work pay”
Farage also placed working people and small businesses at the centre of his appeal.
He said Reform would seek to “make work pay” and would support small and family-run businesses. He also pledged to reduce what he described as an oversized welfare state and raise the income-tax threshold as soon as possible.
The underlying principle is one that Reform has repeatedly emphasized: people who work, save and establish businesses should retain a greater share of the money they earn.
This position contrasts with Labour’s emphasis on using taxation to finance public services and government spending.
However, lowering taxes necessarily raises questions about how government would replace the revenue or reduce expenditure sufficiently to maintain fiscal stability.
That is one of the central issues Reform would have to address if it wanted to turn Farage’s political promises into a governing programme.
Tax cuts can potentially influence incentives and disposable income, but the effect depends on which taxes are reduced, who benefits and how the government finances the reduction.
The promise to help businesses
Small businesses were another major theme.
Farage argued that Reform would put itself on the side of small and family-owned firms, which he believes have faced excessive regulation and rising costs.
This message was reinforced by Reform’s broader campaigning activity around the 2025 Budget. The party had spent heavily on advertising and political events aimed at business owners, including a campaign focused on reducing regulation and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.
Reform’s strategy was significant because the party was attempting to broaden its appeal beyond its traditional emphasis on immigration and Brexit.
Economic policy offers a way to do that.
Business regulation, taxation, energy prices and employment costs affect companies regardless of their views on constitutional or immigration questions.
Farage’s letter therefore presented economic reform as a central part of Reform UK’s identity.
Energy bills and Net Zero
Energy was another prominent part of the letter.
Farage argued that British households were paying too much for energy and linked high costs to the government’s Net Zero policies. He promised that Reform would seek to reduce energy bills by scrapping what he called “crazy Net Zero targets.”
The argument reflects a broader political disagreement about the cost and pace of Britain’s transition to lower-carbon energy.
Reform argues that climate policies can impose excessive costs on consumers and businesses.
Supporters of Net Zero policies, by contrast, argue that reducing emissions requires long-term investment and that renewable energy and other low-carbon technologies can eventually improve energy security and reduce exposure to volatile fossil-fuel prices.
The economic impact therefore depends not only on whether climate targets exist but also on how the transition is implemented, how infrastructure is financed and how energy markets develop.
Farage’s letter nevertheless made clear that changing the direction of energy policy would be one of Reform’s priorities.
Immigration remains central
Although the letter concentrated heavily on the economy, immigration remained an important part of Farage’s argument.
He described uncontrolled immigration as something that was “draining” Britain and connected the issue to pressure on public finances and national resources.
This reflects Reform UK’s longstanding position.
The party has proposed significant reductions in immigration, stricter controls on asylum and changes to the rules governing access to benefits and public services.
The economic consequences of those policies are disputed.
Lower migration could reduce demand for certain public services and infrastructure, but it could also affect the labour supply in industries that rely on migrant workers. The fiscal effect also depends on the age, employment rate, earnings and tax contributions of migrants compared with the services they use.
Consequently, the relationship between immigration and the economy is more complicated than either political slogan can suggest.
A warning about an early election
Perhaps the most striking part of Farage’s letter was his warning that an economic crisis could potentially lead to an early general election.
He said he would not be surprised if a financial crisis produced an early election and insisted that Reform UK would be prepared if such an event occurred.
That statement should be understood as Farage’s political assessment rather than a confirmed prediction.
Under the UK’s constitutional arrangements, the timing of a general election depends on the legal and political circumstances of the government and Parliament. Economic difficulties do not automatically produce an early election.
Farage’s point was instead that Reform wanted to be prepared for any political opening.
That distinction is important because a political party can prepare for an election without knowing when it will happen.
Reform’s preparation for government
The letter repeatedly returned to the idea of readiness.
Farage said Reform was building a team capable of governing and suggested that a future Reform administration would contain people with experience outside Westminster.
This was an attempt to address one of the questions facing any newer political party: whether it has enough experienced people to run a national government.
Farage argued that Britain needed more people who had experience running businesses and dealing with practical problems rather than what he characterized as career politicians.
Critics could reasonably ask whether business experience alone is sufficient preparation for running complex government departments, negotiating international agreements and managing public services.
But Farage’s political message was clear.
He wanted Reform to be seen not merely as a party criticizing government, but as a potential governing organization.
The significance of the letter after Reeves’ Budget
The timing made the intervention particularly significant.
Reeves’ Budget had placed taxation and public spending at the centre of political debate. Reform could therefore use the immediate aftermath to argue that the government’s approach represented precisely the kind of economic direction the party opposed.
Farage’s letter sought to turn that disagreement into a broader political choice.
Labour’s argument was that difficult fiscal decisions were necessary to strengthen public finances, support public services and provide investment.
Reform’s argument was that government should instead reduce spending, cut regulation, lower taxes where possible and change policies that it believes increase household and business costs.
The disagreement is therefore not simply about one Budget.
It concerns fundamentally different views about the role of the state, taxation, regulation, welfare, energy policy and immigration.
“I will not let you down”
Farage ended his letter with a personal promise to readers.
He said Reform UK would be ready for the next election with a plan aimed at making Britain a better place to start a business, raise a family and build a future. He concluded with the words: “I will not let you down.”
That closing sentence captures the political purpose of the entire intervention.
Farage was asking readers to judge Reform not simply by its criticism of Labour or the Conservatives, but by whether it could present itself as a credible alternative government.
That creates a different standard for the party.
Opposition parties can identify problems relatively easily. Governments must demonstrate how policies will be paid for, implemented and administered, while dealing with unforeseen economic and international events.
Reform’s growing emphasis on economic policy therefore represents an important stage in its political development.
Farage’s letter was ultimately a declaration of intent. It presented a diagnosis of Britain based on high taxes, weak growth, expensive energy, regulation, welfare and immigration, and offered Reform UK as the party that believes it can reverse those trends.
Whether those diagnoses are correct, and whether Reform’s proposed solutions would achieve the outcomes Farage promises, are questions that depend on evidence, economic assumptions and political choices.
But the message itself was unmistakable: Farage wants Reform UK to be judged as a potential governing party, not simply as a protest against the established political order.