A party seeking to secure its youth vote without having done the political legwork to earn it is reckless.

The broadcaster has cancer that has spread to his brain and lungs.

A new report lays bare just how disillusioned the UK has become with the current system.

The millionaire rock star has picked his side.

‘This represents a volatile, uncertain, chaotic electoral landscape.’

Nigel Farage has announced a big idea to shake up the tax system if his Reform party ever get into power – and it’s all centred around what he calls the Britannia card.

The so-called ‘card’ is really a deal with wealthy foreigners and British expats who want access to a bespoke tax system that could save them money.

There would be a hefty price tag attached to this agreement though: a one-off payment of £250,000.

Under Farage’s plan, that money would then be redistributed to some of the country’s lowest-paid workers in the form of an annual payout.

Labour have argued the arrangement would end up leading to tax hikes on working families, as the government would miss out on funds it would have got from people who choose to buy the card.

Here’s what would happen under the system proposed by Reform.

What is a Britannia card?

The Britannia card is a snappy name given to the new tax plan suggested by Nigel Farage and his Reform party.

It aims to stop wealthy non-doms – people whose permanent home is outside the UK for tax purposes – from leaving the country, while also boosting the income of the poorest.

The offer is simple: pay a one-off fee of £250,000 to the government and they won’t be taxed on any wealth, income or capital gains earned abroad. They also wouldn’t need to pay inheritance tax.

Holders of the Britannia card would still need to pay tax in the normal way for any income and gains earned in the UK.

The second part of the plan is even more radical. All the cash collected from those one-off fees would not go towards public services like the NHS, police or schools: instead, it would be sent directly to the bottom 10% of UK earners.

In effect, it’s a form of ‘Robin Hood tax’, taking money from the rich and redistributing it to the poor.

According to Reform’s sums, if 6,000 non-doms paid for a Britannia card each year, that would give a £600 income boost to 2.5 million of the lowest-paid Brits.

What have people been saying about it?

In a press conference today, Farage responded to a description of his wealth redistribution plan as ‘profoundly left-wing’ by saying that ‘could not be further from the truth’.

He argued: ‘We’re saying we want people who make loads of money to come in to Britain in huge numbers and pay lots and lots of tax and buy lots of houses and spend lots of money.’

But Labour said non-doms would only pay for the card if the fee is less than the amount of tax they already pay, meaning it would reduce overall tax revenues.

A spokesperson said: ‘As ever with Reform, the devil is in the detail.

‘This giveaway would reduce revenues raised from the rich that would have to be made up elsewhere – through tax hikes on working families or through Farage’s promise to charge them to use the NHS.’

Analysis from Tax Policy Associates published this morning estimated the cost of the policy would be around £34 billion over five years.

The group said it would discourage highly skilled professionals who cannot afford the £250,000 payment from moving to the UK, while also providing a ‘very large and expensive tax windfall to a small number of very wealthy people who are already here’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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Zia Yusuf, a Scottish-born businessman, became chair of Reform shortly after last year’s election (Picture: Ben Whitley/PA Wire)

Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has resigned hours after he described a question to the Prime Minister from…

The UK has ‘lost control of its borders’ over the past five years, the Defence Secretary has said, after a new high for Channel crossings was hit yesterday.

John Healey blamed the previous Conservative government for failing to control the small boats crisis in an appearance on Sky News.

He described scenes of migrants piling on flimsy crafts for the dangerous crossing from France to England on Saturday as ‘pretty shocking’.

Government figures show 18 small boats arrived on British shores yesterday, carrying 1,194 people – up from the year’s previous high of 825 last month.

Pictures from the coastal French town of Gravelines showing police officers standing by as the crafts launch into the Channel have sparked fury.

In February, the government in Paris agreed to change the law so the boats could be intercepted in shallow waters.

However, the move has still not been formally implemented and just 184 of the 1,378 migrants who attempted the crossing yesterday were rescued.

Healey said: ‘They’re not doing it, but for the first time we’ve got the level of cooperation needed, we’ve got the agreement that they will change the way they work.

‘And our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation, so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore.

‘That’ll be part of, part of, I hope, dealing with this absolutely intolerable problem.’

He told Sky News: ‘Truth is, Britain’s lost control of its borders over the last five years, and the last government last year left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration.’

Under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in 2023, the UK agreed to pay France £480 million over three years to help reduce the number of crossings.

Reform leader Nigel Farage claimed in a post on X yesterday that ‘well over 1,000’ of the migrants who crossed the Channel on Saturday were ‘young males’, adding: ‘Our country is in peril.’

It is unclear where he got a gender breakdown for the figures.

Yesterday, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the government’s ‘pledge to smash gangs lies in tatters’, adding that the decision to scrap the Rwanda plan was a ‘catastrophic mistake’.

He also criticised the behaviour of the French, saying the country was ‘endangering lives and breaching their international law obligations’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

The Prime Minister said he doesn’t need a ‘lecture’ from Farage on the working class.

Farage accused the government of being ‘very low-grade.’

On Monday, the PM said the UK risks becoming an ‘island of strangers’.

Reform leader Nigel Farage has been sharply criticised by Rupert Lowe in recent months (Picture: Justin Tallis/AFP)

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