Farage admits change in local councils is 'hard'

N IGEL Farage admitted that bringing change in local government is "hard" and that he had not held talks with the European Union over plans to remove benefits from EU citizens in the UK.

- SOPHIE WINGATE and DAVID HUGHES

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and party board member Zia Yusuf at a press conference yesterday

Labour defended Rachel Reeves' November 26 statement as the only plan to spare voters from austerity, as both Reform UK and the Tories held rival press conferences unveiling alternative budgets yesterday.

The Chancellor's plan to hike taxes while spending "extortionate amounts" on foreign nationals was "treachery", Reform UK's head of policy, Zia Yusuf, said.

Reform's plans include negotiating with Brussels to withdraw the welfare payments EU citizens with settled status are entitled to.

But asked whether he had held exploratory talks with EU officials, Mr Farage said: "No, I'm not terribly popular in Brussels."

He said "you can never predict how negotiations will go" but anticipated his team would have a "far better chance of doing something in the national interest" than the Labour or previous Tory governments.

Reform would give EU citizens who are claiming universal credit three months notice as part of a transitional period before ending their payments.

If the EU refused to accept the terms, a Reform UK government would take unilateral action, regardless of the threat of trade retaliation.