- Reform UK leader Nigel Farage revealed he skipped Chancellor John Healey’s Budget speech in the House of Commons to avoid a potential “physical altercation” after finding his seat prayer card had been removed.
- Mr Farage explained that following a previous confrontation with an MP during the state opening of Parliament in May, he chose to give the chamber a “wide berth” and instead analysed the financial plans line-by-line alongside his team of economists.
- Speaking at a joint press conference, Reform UK Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick dismissed the financial announcement as a “do-nothing Budget” and criticised a proposed £100 energy cost payment as inadequate for struggling households.
- Although Mr Farage praised Mr Healey’s delivery at the despatch box as “assured” and “competent” compared to previous budgets under Rachel Reeves, he accused the Labour government of delivering a “deeply cynical agenda aimed at an early general election”.
- The Clacton MP also voiced concern over the extent of additional UK financial support allocated for Ukraine, questioning whether the funds would be spent properly despite growing worries over Vladimir Putin's rationality.
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