On 3 August 2026 Restore Britain published "The Wealth of Our Nation", a 64-page paper setting out its economic philosophy and a costed plan for public spending and tax.
In his foreword, Rupert Lowe writes: "We plot a responsible course of tax cuts in step with a reduction in state expenditure." This explainer summarises what the paper proposes, using its own figures.
The headline numbers
The paper argues that public spending has risen by about £300bn since 2019 without better results. It sets out to claw much of that back.
- Spending savings: about £178bn from current public spending by the end of a first Parliament. That is roughly two-thirds of the post-2019 increase.
- Pace: the paper describes this as "about £35 billion per annum compound", or about 3% of the budget each year. In other words, the savings build up by around £35bn a year, rather than being made all at once.
- Tax cuts: about £155bn a year by the end of the first Parliament. The paper says this is around £20bn less than the savings.
- Condition: tax cuts would be "introduced only when fully funded" by savings.
Where the savings would come from
The paper lists six main areas. The figures are its own estimates:
- Welfare, £70–80bn a year by the end of the Parliament: freeze working-age benefits at 2025–26 levels for the Parliament. Restrict working-age benefits to British citizens, with no access for temporary visa holders, people with Indefinite Leave to Remain or illegal migrants. Keep the state pension but replace the triple lock with a link to CPI inflation, and bring public-sector pensions into line with private-sector schemes. See welfare reform.
- Quangos, £40–45bn by the end of the Parliament: freeze their combined budgets, saving about £8bn a year compound. Review all 438 bodies for abolition, scaling back or full ministerial oversight.
- Healthcare, about £20bn a year net: the NHS stays free at the point of use for citizens. Non-citizens would be charged market rates, and private health costs would become tax-deductible. See NHS and healthcare.
- Education, about £10bn a year: state education stays free, with schools run independently and funded by pupil numbers. Private school fees would become tax-deductible and education would be exempt from VAT. See education.
- Energy, £15–20bn a year: end all public spending related to Net Zero. See energy.
- Budget freeze, £3–4bn a year: freeze most departmental budgets for three years, excluding defence, health and debt interest.
Added together, those ranges come to roughly £158bn to £179bn, consistent with the paper's £178bn headline.
What the savings would pay for
The tax proposals would be phased in as savings allow. The paper's estimated annual costs:
- Income tax, about £49bn: raise the personal allowance to £16,000, extend the 20% basic-rate band up to £100,000, and restore the full allowance to all taxpayers. Higher bands would stay unchanged in the first Parliament.
- Corporation tax, about £41bn: a zero rate on the first £50,000 of profits, which the paper says would take about 95% of companies out of the tax. The main rate would return to 19%, with an aspiration of 15% later, and various sector-specific levies would be phased out.
- Stamp duty, about £18bn: abolished in all forms.
- Inheritance tax, about £9bn: abolished. This builds on the party's earlier inheritance tax paper (opens in a new tab) of March 2026.
- Insurance premium tax, about £9bn: abolished.
- Air passenger duty, about £4bn: abolished.
- Emissions trading scheme, about £3bn: abolished.
- Climate change levy, about £1–2bn: abolished.
- Capital gains tax, about £0.7bn: raise the annual allowance to between £20,000 and £40,000.
- VAT, about £20–22bn: cut the standard rate to 18% and raise the registration threshold to £150,000.
The paper expects these changes to add at least 1% of GDP a year to growth. It says it has deliberately left that out of its calculations.
The bigger picture
The paper describes its programme as "a decades-long project". Its long-term aim is a state of about 33% of GDP, roughly the size Tony Blair inherited in 1997, compared with about 45% today. In the medium term it aims to balance the budget and reduce public debt as a share of GDP.
On monetary policy, it criticises the Bank of England's quantitative easing. It proposes:
- nominating new members of the Monetary Policy Committee who are committed to stability
- requiring the Chancellor's explicit authorisation for any monetary expansion
- paying more attention to broad money supply
How to read the numbers
All the figures above are Restore Britain's own estimates, and several are given as ranges. The paper says more detailed papers on individual sectors will follow.
For the party's wider economic positions, see economy and taxation. For every paper and date, see the timeline. Our guide What is Restore Britain? covers the party as a whole.