Reform Watch: It's pints over poverty as Jenrick doubles down on two-child cap
Plus: Racist tweets, and Matt Goodwin's latest Handmaid's Tale-esque comments.
Nigel Farage must be getting dizzy.
This week, his party’s new treasury spokesperson, ex-Tory cabinet member Robert Jenrick, announced that Reform would, in fact, restore the two-child benefit cap in full — despite “accidentally” voting to scrap it this month.
On top of the fact that this would keep 450,000 children in poverty – as The Lead has long campaigned against as part of our End Child Poverty campaign – it’s more proof that you can’t trust Farage and his cronies as far as you can throw them.
After all, Reform was all for lifting the cap last year, with Farage stating that doing so was “not a silver bullet,” but it was “the right thing to do”. Then, of course, they quickly rolled back their stance, deciding the cap should only be lifted for British-born, working families.
When Labour announced it would be lifting the cap, Farage vowed that he and his party would vote against the change he had been arguing for just months prior. In the end, Farage didn’t bother voting either way, and the newly instated Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick mistakenly voted to scrap the measure after “getting trapped” in the aye lobby. “A genuine mistake,” according to a Reform spokesperson.
Now, Jenrick has pledged to reinstate the two-child limit. “We want to help working families have more children,” he said. “But right now, we just cannot afford to do so with welfare. So it has to go. And as Reform’s shadow chancellor, I’m ending it.”
The move has evoked uproar from anti-poverty campaigners, not least because Farage has suggested Reform would use the money saved by reinstating the cap to slash the cost of beer. Who needs a nation of warm, healthy kids if pints are 5p cheaper?
It seems part of the reason for Farages’ change of heart was fears he could be branded a “socialist” (what could be worse than that?) – but it could also have something to do with the influx of ex Tory MPs into the party, with two of the most senior, Jenrick and Braverman, now at its helm.
While the concept of Reform as Tories in sheep’s clothing may feel well-worn by now, it’s a point that bears repeating, especially since an investigation by the Nerve has revealed that more than 80 per cent of the party’s funding since 2019 is from Conservative donors or figures closely associated with the party. But sure, this time will be different: same donors, same DNA, but a slightly different shade of blue.
Let’s not forget that scrapping the two-child benefit cap is a vital policy that will have an immediate, measurable impact on half a million children currently living in poverty in the UK:
Elsewhere:
Reform’s new ToryLite “shadow cabinet” has attracted much intrigue, but perhaps more troubling is the appointment of James Orr as the party’s new head of policy. Orr, a philosophy professor at Cambridge University, is known to be a close friend of JD Vance, has described asylum seekers as “invaders”, and argued abortion should be banned – including pregnancies that resulted from rape. He also has connections with IDF-linked tech giant Palantir, having invited co-founder Peter Thiel to Cambridge University to deliver one of his “antichrist” lectures earlier this month.
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In Gorton and Denton, Goodwin has come under fire for an unearthed YouTube video from 2024 in which he says “young girls and women” should get a “biological reality” check. It comes after he suggested people who don’t have children should pay more tax.
In a separate clip, from a podcast with Jordan Peterson, Goodwin also appeared to agree with the host’s claim that universities have become hotbeds of “politically correct authoritarianism” because they are full of “childless women”. When asked about the comments, Nigel Farage said he “wouldn’t want to tax anybody more, but you might give people tax breaks for having quite a few children, given that the cost of living is as appallingly high as it is.” Just remember, the Handmaid’s Tale wasn’t just fiction, it was also a warning.
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Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Goodwin’s campaign manager, Adam Mitula, once tweeted; “I wouldn’t touch a Jewish woman”, as well as engaging in holocaust minimisation stating: “6 million polish [sic] people including some Jews. They always use Poles to make up the number. And on top of it they claim Poles were killing. Just sick.”
That’s not all. He has posted the n-word, and said that “60-70%” of trans people are paedophiles.
This came to light as part of a Hope Not Hate investigation into the racist and far right activists helping out with Goodwin’s campaign.
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It’s no surprise, then, that Nigel Farage was heckled by activists at the launch of a Jewish members’ organisation for Reform UK – the Reform Jewish Alliance – last Tuesday, with critics saying he planned to use the new group as cover for persecuting other minorities. Activists stood up in the middle of Farage’s speech and accused him of advocating policies under which past Jewish refugees would have been barred from the UK.
Notes from the North
The Lancashire Lead was the first title to report on the fact that Reform UK has withdrawn all of its libraries from the Library of Sanctuary scheme. The reason given was the relevant cabinet member did not believe it was a good use of taxpayer money – despite the cost of being a part of the scheme being zero. Another big saving for DOGE. This means just one library in Lancashire – The Harris, managed by Preston City Council per a long-term agreement – is part of the scheme.
Leigh at The Teesside Lead looks at how SeAH Wind had its first order cancelled, after it was unable to provide the monopiles for the Hornsea 3 offshore windfarm. The news comes at the same time it was confirmed the company has replaced its CEO. So far, SeAH is the only tenant at Teesworks.
And at The Valleys Lead, Lauren reports on how the spike in political abuse associated with the last two years is affecting women in the area she covers. One councillor was called a ‘traitor to Wales’, for supporting the Nation of Sanctuary policy (that promises nothing more than to be welcoming).
This weekend, our Westminster Editor Zoë Grunewald will be back in your inbox with a deep-dive on the Greens ahead of next week’s local elections – has Zack Polanski’s party really got what it takes to be serious contenders?
And, if you’re after some further reading, Natalie recommends this poignant reflection on the life of the great Jesse Jackson, who died this week at age 84. As Hugh Muir puts it: “He saw people, but he also saw powerful themes, of othering, of inequality, of disenfranchisement. Leaders of that stripe are most dangerous – so mourn today, because we can ill afford to lose them.”
Zoë thinks everyone should read Rachel Aviv’s searing account of Gisèle Pelicot’s story in the New Yorker. An utterly harrowing and heartbreaking portrait of trauma, resilience, and a family forever changed.
Thanks for reading today’s Thursday edition of The Lead. It’s great to have you with us. If you’ve enjoyed today’s Reform Watch, please do share it with your friends, family and colleagues, to help us reach more people with our independent journalism – always with a focus on people, policy and place.
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