No ‘free tickets’ on council tax under Reform

Published

4 hours ago

November 18, 2025

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Nigel Farage gave a press conference on Tuesday, highlighting £25bn of savings he claims Rachel Reeves can make in her budget – including slashing overseas aid and welfare for foreign citizens.

But he said the areas where the local councils are now run by Reform are experiencing “massive problems” with their finances and may have to raise council tax.

The Reform leader claimed that when campaigning in the local elections in May, he “did not make a single promise – not a single promise in that election campaign that we’d be able to freeze or cut council tax”.

“I never said it once. And you know why? Because I realised the massive debts that we were inheriting from those county councils.”

Read more: What taxes could go up now?

A turquoise tide saw Reform gain control of 10 councils and win some 600 local councillors.

Farage promised a “DOGE” unit, inspired by Elon Musk’s initiative in the US, to slash waste.

But most councils have indicated they will have to raise council tax, as they grapple with budget shortfalls and the pressures of adult social care.

I asked him why voters should believe he could easily find spending to slash in national government, if the record in local councils was anything to go by.

Mr Farage said: “There is a massive problem and this is going to need the national government to work with the local government to reduce those burdens.

“Are we determined to make changes? Yes. Will we cut debt? Yes. But can we give people a free ticket at this moment in time on council tax? No.”

Kent County Council – where a leaked phone call exposing tensions about budgets led to councillors being suspended – is expected to raise council tax by the maximum of 4.99% next year.

Durham County Council is reported to be looking at raising parking charges.

Farage added later in the press conference that he hoped councils would keep their rises to the level of inflation, 3.8% in September.

Politics

Marshall Islands launches universal basic income program using digital wallet

Published

4 hours ago

November 18, 2025

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Marshall Islands launches universal basic income program using digital wallet

The Republic of the Marshall Islands announced that it would allow citizens to access funds through a government-issued digital asset as part of the nation’s Universal Basic Income (UBI) program.

In a Wednesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the government of the island nation said it had launched a digital wallet called Lomalo, which will utilize the US dollar-pegged stablecoin USDM1 to enable citizens to access the UBI program. According to the government, the first disbursement of funds will occur in late November, allowing citizens to access them through their wallet, by physical check, or via direct deposit.

“By introducing a secure digital option alongside our traditional methods, we are strengthening our financial systems and ensuring that no community is left behind,” said David Paul, finance minister for the Marshall Islands.

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Neighboring Pacific island nations have rolled out similar programs over the years, including Palau’s stablecoin on the XRP Ledger for government employees, and the central bank of the Solomon Islands’ Bokolo Cash for peer-to-peer transactions and retail payments in the nation’s capital, Honiara.

“Citizens will be able to transfer to other registered Lomalo users,” a spokesperson for the Marshall Islands’ finance minister told Cointelegraph. “Right now, only citizens registered for the UBI can set up a wallet.”

Warnings from the IMF on the Marshall Islands utilizing digital assets

The launch of the digital wallet as part of the islands’ UBI program followed warnings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In 2023, the group urged the government of the Marshall Islands to reconsider its central bank digital currency program, then known as SOV.

“Progress on rolling back past digital initiatives is welcome,” said the IMF in a Sept. 10 notice. “Current plans to issue a ‘digital sovereign bond’ carry significant risks relative to perceived returns, which cannot be effectively mitigated given lack of pre-requisite capacity. Thus, in the mission’s view, the authorities should not proceed with the global launch as planned.”

The IMF said that the expansion of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), which the Marshall Islands began recognizing as legal entities in 2022, and the launch of the UBI program using the “untested” USDM1 could have “adverse macro-fiscal and financial integrity implications.” The fund urged the government to scale back the UBI program to a “more targeted scheme to those who need it the most.”