Reform vows to keep OBR and Bank of England independence
Robert Jenrick will back the institutions as ‘shadow chancellor’ to reassure business
Ben Clatworthy, Whitehall Editor |
Daisy Eastlake, Political Reporter
Wednesday February 18 2026, 12.00am GMT, The Times
Reform UK will pledge to keep the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and protect the independence of the Bank of England in a move designed to boost its financial credibility.
Robert Jenrick, who was unveiled on Tuesday as the party’s “shadow chancellor”, will use a speech in the City of London to back the two bodies.
It is hoped that the intervention will help reassure investors and business that Reform will not seek to undermine independent financial institutions.
Only last month Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, said he was giving “serious thought” to scrapping the OBR, arguing that it leaves chancellors “beholden to it rather than doing their own thinking” and was “effectively dictating to elected politicians”.
The OBR was created in 2010 by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government. It draws up five-year forecasts for the economy and the public finances that are published alongside the budget.
Jenrick, who defected from the Conservatives last month, will still criticise the OBR for overestimating the economic benefits of low-skilled migration and underestimating the benefit of taxes.
However, in a change of direction, he will reject calls to abolish the OBR, arguing that it has helped to instil greater fiscal discipline.
Robert Jenrick was unveiled as Reform’s Treasury spokesman on Friday
LEON NEAL/GETTY IMAGES
He will criticise the Bank for “excessive quantitative easing” and for “taking its eye off the ball on inflation”, but will say it is still a force for stability which should be defended.
Jenrick will say Reform will “end the chaos and restore stability” while pledging to be the “only party that will be as careful with your money as you are”.
Reform said it was drawing up a “comprehensive plan to turn around Britain’s broken economy”. It will include stripping the Bank of England of so-called ancillary responsibilities, such as net zero, while the OBR will be opened to greater “outside, proven forecasting expertise”.
He will say: “Everything Reform promises will be fully costed. And because we’re confident about the approach we will take, we’re happy to have our homework marked.
“The OBR is far from perfect. But the impetus for its creation was a desire to instil fiscal discipline, and that is something we wholeheartedly endorse.”
On Tuesday Reform also pledged to repeal the Equality Act on day one of its government.
It came as Suella Braverman, the former Conservative home secretary, was announced as the party’s lead on education, skills and equalities at a press conference. She said Britain was being “ripped apart by diversity, equality and inclusion” policies.
Suella Braverman was named as Reform UK’s “shadow education and skills secretary”
ANDY RAIN/EPA
Announcing a target of 50 per cent of young people going into trades rather than university, she said: “Why does no one in this government seem to care that it’s white working-class boys who have the worst educational outcomes in our country today?
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“Do you know what a Reform government will do? Well, on day one, we will get rid of the equalities department, we will scrap the equalities minister.
“And we will repeal the Equality Act, because we are going to work to build a country defined by meritocracy not tokenism, personal responsibility not victimhood, excellence not mediocrity, and unity not division.”
Farage announced four appointments to what he described as “shadow” roles, although the terminology is reserved for the official opposition, currently the Conservative Party.
Zia Yusuf was appointed home affairs spokesman and promised to cut both legal and illegal migration, including by withdrawing from any international treaty preventing mass deportations.
He said Britain had been “overwhelmed by immigration”, adding: “More people have turned up on our beaches uninvited in the last seven years than stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.”
Zia Yusuf
CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/REUTERS
He said: “Those people, instead of being detained and deported, have been given free accommodation, free meals, free access to healthcare, free taxis, free leisure activities at the expense of the British people, to the tune of tens of billions of pounds every single year.”
He called it “the most profound betrayal of the British electorate in history” before issuing a warning to migrants: “If you are in this country illegally right now and you are watching this, I want to be crystal clear. As Reform’s home secretary, I will ensure that you are deported from these lands.”
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Farage said that Richard Tice, his number two, would be given the title of deputy prime minister and run a new business, trade and energy “super department”. It would seek to achieve 4 per cent growth.
Tice said the party would focus on using oil and gas to boost the economy, abandon “stupid” net-zero targets and create a “serious” British wealth fund.
He said: “If we achieve those things then we can reindustrialise Britain, we can re-energise Britain, we can renew Britain and yes, we can rebuild Britain. These are absolutely essential to create growth.”
Farage on stage with his number two, Richard Tice
LEON NEAL/GETTY IMAGES
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative Party chairman, dismissed Reform’s team as “a line-up that looks more like a tribute act to the old Conservative Party than a credible alternative”.
He said: “Even now, some are already eyeing their next career move, while others who were clearly expecting promotion have been left out in the cold. Today’s underwhelming announcement proves Reform remains a one-man band.”
Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, described Farage’s front bench as a “Reform-Tory ‘Fifty Shades of Blue’ love-in”.
She said: “Robert Jenrick voted for Liz Truss’s economic disaster of a mini-budget, now he wants to do the same damage to the economy all over again. Nigel Farage is welcome to give his colleagues new name badges but it won’t change the opinion of the country: that Conservatives, current or former, are totally unfit to govern.”
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