Key facts
- The Centre for a Better Britain (CFABB), a think tank linked to Reform UK, has proposed abolishing the state pension.
- The report calls for £75 billion in tax cuts, including eliminating capital gains tax and inheritance tax.
- CFABB also proposes reducing corporation tax from 25% to 15% over eight years.
- The think tank suggests replacing the state pension with a 'lifetime investment account' offering a £1,000 starter pack to newborns.
- The report calls for deregulation of the UK's financial services sector.
- CFABB was founded by Jonathan Brown, former chief operations officer of Reform UK.
A think tank with ties to the UK's Reform UK party has put forward a radical set of proposals, including the abolition of the state pension and significant tax cuts totaling £75 billion. The report, titled "Boosting Britain," was authored by the Centre for a Better Britain (CFABB), founded by Jonathan Brown, who previously served as Reform UK's chief operations officer.
The proposals aim to boost productivity and living standards through measures such as eliminating capital gains tax and inheritance tax, and reducing corporation tax from 25% to 15% over eight years. The report suggests that these changes would effectively remove up to 50% of the existing tax code. To offset the cost, the CFABB suggests cuts to public spending, including closing the public pension plan to new teachers and civil servants and eradicating the state pension.
Instead of the state pension, the CFABB proposes a 'lifetime investment account,' which would provide a £1,000 starter pack to newborns. Account holders would later contribute up to 15% of their earnings into their personal retirement pot, with the state pension remaining only as a means-tested safety net. Brown described the state pension as "essentially a Ponzi scheme."
The report also advocates for weaker rules for UK banks and calls for breaking up the Treasury, moving some responsibilities to a new "Department for Economic Growth." Senior bosses at the Bank of England would have their pay linked to hitting inflation targets.
CFABB's funding is unclear, but it operates from Millbank Tower, near Reform UK's headquarters. The think tank previously operated as Resolute 1850. James Orr, former chair of CFABB's advisory board and Reform UK's former head of policy, stepped down from the think tank role in February.