Richard Tice has demanded an "employer immigration tax" to curb what he dubbed an "addiction" to migration.
Speaking at a press conference in central London to discuss the party’s immigration policy, Tice said the UK has an "addiction" to "cheap overseas labour".
He said: "This drug is being pushed on every street corner by the Labour Party and by the Tories.
"They believe that this drug, this addiction, is good for the British economy. Let me tell you today it’s not."
Richard Tice has demanded an "employer immigration tax" to curb what he dubbed an "addiction" to migration
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Tice added: “What we need is a cure to this addiction and the cure is an employer immigration tax.”
The Reform UK leader said the party would introduce a premium on national insurance with exemptions, including for healthcare.
Under Reform’s Employer Immigration Tax, the National Insurance rate that businesses currently pay - 13.8 per cent of an employee’s salary – will be raised to 20 per cent for foreign workers.
He continued: "British wages are depressed by mass immigration from overseas... and it’s particularly unfair for young British people, people leaving school, leaving university, that’s deeply unfair."
Tice added: "We need to incentivise business to say if you want to employ people from overseas, that’s fine, but you have to pay a price for it, an employer immigration tax, because actually we want to incentivise to employ British workers.
"Now big business will say ‘oh come on Richard, British workers don’t want to work’, to which I say ‘nonsense’.
Under Reform’s Employer Immigration Tax, the National Insurance rate that businesses currently pay - 13.8 per cent of an employee’s salary – will be raised to 20 per cent for foreign workers
PA
"Before the era of mass immigration, in the 1980s and 1990s, British workers were working, we had real wage growth. So maybe it’s actually it’s you, big business, getting away without paying a decent working wage."
He also used his speech to warn pollsters against discounting "shy" Reform UK backers.
The party leader said: "Do you remember the old shy Brexiteers? There’s a whole load of shy Reformers.
“They’re out there. Every day I meet them, that little sort of thumbs up, wink, ‘don’t tell anyone’.
“That’s why we’re going to do so much better than everybody predicts on July 4.”
Ending his speech, Tice said: “That’s why, with my good friend Nigel [Farage], we’re going to surprise everybody because this great country of ours needs Reform.”
Nigel Farage described Reform UK’s plans for an employer immigration tax plan as a “bold, innovative policy”.
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Nigel Farage described Reform UK’s plans for an employer immigration tax plan as a “bold, innovative policy”.
The party’s honorary president said: “I can hear the multinationals wailing already because, you’re quite right we have become addicted to cheap, foreign labour.”
Hitting out at the two main parties, he said “nothing slippery Sunak says is believable” and added that when he hears Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, he “zones out”. Farage described the overall campaign trail as “dull”.