Former Chancellor George Osborne has warned that Reform UK “cannot be trusted to run the economy”, accusing Nigel Farage’s party of lacking fiscal credibility at a time when economic stewardship is likely to define the next general election.
Speaking amid growing scrutiny of Reform’s costed plans, Mr Osborne dismissed the party as economically unreliable, pointing to its proposals to lift the two-child benefit cap and nationalise water companies — policies that have already been branded “socialist” by Conservative critics.
“I don’t think people are going to pick Reform to fix the economy,” he said. “I would just be: economy, economy, economy, economy, economy as much as you possibly can.”
His intervention comes as the Conservatives, led by Kemi Badenoch, fall further behind in the polls. A recent MRP survey from Electoral Calculus puts Reform at 36 per cent, with the Tories trailing on just 15 per cent — leaving the Conservatives projected to win only 24 seats, behind the SNP.
Reform UK recently dropped its pledge for £90bn of tax cuts amid increasing concern over the party’s fiscal realism. Nonetheless, Mr Osborne questioned whether Mr Farage has the resolve to make “tough decisions on the economy”, noting that electoral success hinges on managing growth, spending and taxation with credibility.
The former Chancellor, who presided over austerity measures during the Cameron-led coalition government, argued that the Conservatives’ best hope of clawing back support lies in reasserting their reputation for economic discipline.
“Fundamentally, people vote for the Conservatives when they want the grown-ups to be in charge of the economy,” he said. “That is the history of Conservative oppositions – they have succeeded when they have won over the confidence of the country on the economy.”
He added that Labour remains vulnerable on economic competence, citing Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s struggle to boost growth while maintaining fiscal discipline. In particular, he claimed Labour “lost some of its reputation with business” following last year’s £25bn National Insurance increase.
Osborne made the comments during an interview with The Telegraph at Coinbase’s London Crypto Forum, where he also called on the Conservatives to seize ground in the digital finance sector to neutralise Reform’s appeal.
Mr Farage has positioned himself as a crypto champion, pledging to establish a UK-backed Bitcoin reserve — a policy echoing moves in the US where Donald Trump has positioned America as a prospective “Bitcoin superpower”.
But Mr Osborne argued that the Conservatives should take the lead in positioning the UK as a pro-innovation financial hub. “We don’t have to worry too much about what Reform is saying, but just say some good things ourselves,” he noted.
Despite recent volatility — with crypto markets losing around $400bn after Mr Trump threatened China with 100 per cent tariffs — Osborne called on the UK to accelerate regulatory clarity, warning that Britain risks falling behind as the US, EU and UAE race ahead in fintech policy.
“One of Britain’s biggest strengths is financial services,” he said. “You don’t want major financial services activity to be happening in other jurisdictions because we are not allowing it here.”
With the Budget looming in November, Osborne also urged Ms Reeves to curb public spending rather than rely on tax rises alone to manage a £30bn shortfall in the public finances, claiming an over-reliance on revenue-raising measures would be “very damaging for the economic performance of the country”.
Despite internal Conservative divisions and a bruising electoral outlook, Osborne insists the Tories retain a pathway back to economic credibility if they focus relentlessly on fiscal responsibility, investment, productivity and pro-business growth strategies.
“We are the fiscally responsible, pro-business people – and we are prepared to take difficult decisions on public expenditure,” he said.
A spokesperson for Reform responded: “At the next election, we will present a rigorous and fully costed manifesto. Reform will never borrow to spend, as Labour and the Tories have done for so long; instead we will ensure savings are made before implementing tax cuts.”
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Osborne warns Reform UK ‘not fiscally fit to run the economy’