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The Reform Party has maintained a notable edge in polling data for much of the year, yet the party faces multiple vulnerabilities. A major problem is that immigration policy seems to be its sole strong topic, but on most other areas, its policy offer is insubstantial and its trustworthiness is minimal. This is most obvious than in the economy, where the group has been forced to concede that the £90bn tax cuts it previously supported in its manifesto last year have been dropped because they are unachievable.

Farage's Economic Strategy

Currently, Nigel Farage is trying to resolve this challenge with a speech in which he will, as he describes it, “set out our economic vision for a Reform-led government.” As reported, Farage will commit the party to extensive deregulation.

Farage will further declare that, if Reform governs, budget cuts would take place before tax cuts.

Reform intends to bring government expenditure managed, ensuring that the country's debt expenses decrease. At that point, and only then will taxes be reduced to encourage expansion. We need to ensure the economy growing.

This represents a significant shift from what Farage was proposing last year.

Party Responses

There was a time when both major parties largely ignored Farage's talks, but last night they both issued lengthy “pre-buttal” comments that included further insights than the Reform party preview. Labour asserted that Farage intends to bring back austerity. A Labour spokesperson stated:

According to Nigel Farage he is presenting fresh ideas – but for all his talk, his proposal would return us to fiscal restraint.

We’ve seen from the councils Reform run that they’ve not managed to provide the budget reductions they committed to and are cutting services and raising taxes as a consequence. The party has acknowledged that those councils are a demonstration for what a Reform administration would do at the national level – we understand that this is further unfulfilled pledges and no real plan.

The Conservatives issued a detailed report criticizing Reform’s economic policy. In a statement, Mel Stride, the Conservative treasury spokesman, said Reform promises “fall apart quickly” and that its economic plans are “leftwing.”

Assessment of Attacks

Of the two lines of attack, Labour’s “austerity” claim is more convincing, especially since of what Farage plans to say about expenditure reductions preceding tax relief. The Tories are attempting to characterize Reform as left-leaning due to the fact that certain social benefit plans are less severe as those supported by the Tory party and because the last Reform manifesto featured a scheme for government-run infrastructure to be operated under a system involving half public control, with the balance being owned by UK pension funds. However this is not a concept that Reform has been promoting in recent times; this aspect of the Tory briefing ignores Mel Stride's comment about the party's election pledges having brief credibility.

Once the presentation concludes, political rivals will have the opportunity to adjust their criticism strategies against the Reform Party.

Daily Political Schedule

There is numerous other events on today. Here is the agenda:

• 10.30am: The Chester court starts hearing a electoral challenge challenging the result of the Runcorn and Helsby special election, which was won by Sarah Pochin of Reform UK by a margin of six votes.
• 11am: Nigel Farage, the Reform party leader, presents a talk on fiscal strategy.
• 11.30am: The Prime Minister's office holds a lobby briefing.
• 1.30pm: Chris Wormald, the senior official, and the permanent secretary, top diplomat at the Diplomatic Service, provide testimony the Commons foreign affairs committee about the functions of the Foreign Ministry. The session is anticipated to cover discussion of the background check on Peter Mandelson before he was named as ambassador to the United States.
• 2.30pm: The defence secretary, the defence secretary, answers queries in the Parliament.
• After 3.30pm: Shabana Mahmood, the domestic affairs head, provides an update to Members of Parliament about the train security event.