1 godzina temu
Reform UK has pledged to cut 68,500 civil service jobs if it wins the next general election, a move the party says would save taxpayers £5.2 billion annually. Danny Kruger, the East Wiltshire MP tasked with preparing Reform for government, unveiled the plan at a Westminster press conference on Monday morning, describing it as the "first phase" of the party's strategy to overhaul Whitehall operations.
The proposed cuts would eliminate around 13 per cent of the total civil service headcount and reduce the salary bill by 17 per cent. Kruger said the savings would materialise over two years, with £4 billion in averted salary costs and £1 billion in avoided pension contributions. The redundancy costs, estimated at around £60,000 per position, would pay for themselves within two years under the plan.
Human resources departments would face the deepest reductions, with 67 per cent of jobs eliminated. Communications roles would be cut by 60 per cent, while the number of policy advisers would be halved. Certain frontline positions would be exempt, including border control officers, DWP assessors, Home Office caseworkers and HMRC tax investigators.
Five-fold bonus increase
Alongside the job cuts, Reform plans to expand the performance-related pay bonus pool five times, earmarking between £500 million and £750 million for high-performing civil servants. Kruger said: «We want to make Whitehall a rewarding place to work and one that attracts the best talent.» He added: «We want them to feel valued and properly rewarded so that means retaining expertise within a subject area so that we grow real experience and knowledge in each domain of government.»
The party frames the bonus scheme as a shift away from what it calls "over-generous" pensions toward performance incentives. When asked about attracting talent after reducing pension contributions, Kruger stated: «We value people who have a long career in the Civil Service. Obviously, their pension should reflect their service. Nevertheless, we don't want an organisation in which the main reason to work there is that you can look forward to a good pension once you retire. We want people to work for the public interest, and we want the type of people who will be incentivised by the opportunity of performance-related pay, rather than a distant and over-generous pension.»
"Serious weather" for Whitehall
Describing the reforms as both «radical» and «thorough», Kruger acknowledged the scale of disruption ahead. He said: «Someone once said that a hard rain is going to fall on Whitehall, and I do see the need for serious weather, but after the rain, after the storm, there will be sunshine – it's going to be a better place to work.»
A policy document published alongside the announcement criticised previous governments for their «lack of political courage» in following through on civil service reductions. The document states that a Reform government would make the civil service «lean, high performing, agile and effective» and «capable of attracting and retaining the country's finest talent».
Reform also plans to save tens of millions of pounds by letting government building leaseholds in London expire and decentralising departments across the country. Deputy leader Richard Tice indicated that sweeping changes could come to bodies including the Financial Conduct Authority, the Bank of England and HMRC. Further announcements are expected as Reform continues its preparation for government work.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
