Nigel Farage wants to scrap ‘suffocating’ UK GDPR

Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, has announced plans to abolish the UK GDPR, claiming it has "strangled" small businesses for eight years with excessive regulation. Farage asserts that the UK should adopt a more flexible, light-touch approach akin to New Zealand's data protection system, which imposes significantly lower fines for violations.

The party's leader emphasized that small businesses are essential to the economy and are currently being stifled by heavy taxes, red tape, and over-reliance on the state. Robert Jenrick, Farage's economy chief, added that the UK should no longer be following outdated EU privacy laws that hinder British businesses. The Reform UK leader's pledge to scrap the UK GDPR comes as the party faces a legal challenge from the Good Law Project over its data protection practices.

The party is also proposing various business-friendly measures, including reversing a National Insurance increase, lowering VAT registration thresholds, and altering the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme to encourage investment in small businesses. However, Labour has criticized these proposals as "unworkable and unserious," accusing the party of attempting to undo existing legislation and sidestepping the recent controversy surrounding Farage's acceptance of a £5 million gift from an overseas crypto-billionaire.