British businesses are right to be concerned about the rise of Reform UK and should demand far tougher scrutiny of the party’s economic plans, according to Liam Byrne, the Labour chairman of the House of Commons business and trade select committee.
In an interview with The Times, Byrne said that if Reform were to become the dominant force on the political right, companies would need to take a much closer look at its policies and credibility. He warned that the business community could not afford complacency when dealing with a party whose economic approach remains unclear.
“If Reform is set to become the predominant party of the right, then businesses absolutely are going to need to understand where they’re coming from,” Byrne said. “Particularly when the economic evidence says that populist, interventionist administrations are pretty catastrophic for the economy. The next year or two are going to be quite important for the business community in really getting their head around the reality of Reform.”
His comments come at a time when Reform UK is polling strongly and stepping up its engagement with corporate Britain, even as both Labour and the Conservatives seek to rebuild trust with investors after years of economic turbulence.
Reform, led by Nigel Farage, has begun courting business leaders more actively, though some executives remain cautious. In November, the party’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, took part in a high-profile question-and-answer session at the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry, an appearance widely seen as an attempt to demonstrate openness to scrutiny from corporate leaders.
The party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, is due to address a City investor event in January hosted by VSA Capital, where he is expected to outline Reform’s thinking on financial policy and the wider economy. The event has been billed as an opportunity for investors, businesses and policymakers to engage at a “crucial time” for the UK economy.
Byrne said many business leaders he speaks to are already uneasy. He described them as “fairly terrified” by the prospect of Reform gaining power, arguing that the global economic environment is already fragile without the added uncertainty of a party whose spending plans remain opaque.
“A new party like Reform has got spending plans which are so unclear,” he said. “There are so many questions about whether this would ultimately be Liz Truss mark two.”
Reform rejected that characterisation. Tice said in a statement that both Labour and the Conservatives had “wrecked the public finances” and left the economy in a far worse state than before the 2024 general election. He argued that Reform’s approach would restore discipline to public spending, lower borrowing costs and strip away what he described as unnecessary regulation.
“Only Reform will get public spending under control so that the nation’s borrowing costs come down,” Tice said. “We will also cut huge swathes of unnecessary regulation that slow growth and increase the cost of living. Then, and only then, will we cut taxes to stimulate growth.”
For Byrne, however, the message to business leaders is clear. With Reform’s influence growing, he believes companies must press the party harder on the detail behind its promises, rather than accepting broad slogans at face value.
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Business is ‘right to be worried’ by Reform UK, warns Labour’s Liam Byrne