The UK is “suffering from having a totally unregulated sexual economy”, the Reform MP Danny Kruger has said, and he indicated he expected the party to have a “limited but important role” in resetting sexual culture.
Kruger said Reform UK had a “pronatalist ambition” and would seek policies to encourage people to have more children, including exploring changes to the tax system to make payments based on households rather than individuals.
In an interview with the House magazine, the MP, who recently defected from the Conservatives, said he would personally support reversing changes that allowed no-fault divorce.
Asked what role a political party could have in undoing the sexual revolution, Kruger said: “A limited but important one.” He said policy would be “critically important to the way families form” and he suggested changes could come via the tax system to mean that partners compile a household tax return rather than individually.
“Marriage traditionally was the means by which sexual relations between men and women were regulated, and I think we are suffering from having a totally unregulated sexual economy,” he said.
“I’m not interested in your love life, or anything about your personal life – that is your business. But I am interested in the framework in which you make your decisions, and I’d like the framework to be more pro-social. If you want – most people do want – to settle down with one person to have children, we should make that easier.”
Kruger said there were no plans to repeal the 2022 introduction of no-fault divorces. Previously couples needed to cite adultery, unreasonable behaviour or separation.
He said the change “basically means that your vows don’t matter”, but he added: “I don’t know whether we’d be able to reverse it. I don’t think that would be party policy, to change that.”
Kruger said he was worried about the declining birthrate and that the party wanted to encourage more women to have children. “Yes, we have a pronatalist ambition. We want people to have more children, and we think the government should get behind that wish,” he said.
Kruger denied that Reform UK was a divisive party, and he suggested there could be widespread anger if the party did not win the next election.
“The total opposite is the case. The only chance of unity for our country is Reform. If we don’t win, or if we win and then make a mess of it, I do fear for our country,” he said.
“The Reform slogan is family, community, country. We’re talking about the associations that give us meaning and identity and security and a sense of belonging. I think that’s where the country is now going – away from a doctrine of total liberal individualism.”