Adrian Howard

The level of interest that young British men and women are saddled with after university is outrageous - some of the figures that have been sent in recently are genuinely shocking. It's a scam. Young people are starting their working lives burdened with enormous debts, watching interest pile up even as they make repayments. The number just grows and grows and grows. A system designed by my generation that does nothing to serve hardworking, ambitious and talented British youngsters. Restore Britain will abolish tuition fees altogether for courses and training of national importance, ensuring we produce the doctors, engineers, dentists scientists and properly skilled workers our country desperately needs. And we will scrap ALL interest on student loans for British citizens living in Britain. Importantly - to help fund it all, we will ban foreign nationals from accessing our student loan system. The system should be helping young British men and women invest in their futures. That helps all of us - but the system is so self-absorbed, outdated and short-sighted it cannot see that. Education should not be a profit-making machine, placing that above all else. It’s about investing in the country’s future, even if those of us making the decisions aren’t around to see it.

Don’t fund indolent Somalians to have more children on universal credit in social housing, do fund the abolition of student interest for young British graduates. That feels like a fair swap to me.

People of my generation should be very careful when they're crowing about sending young men to war against Russia, Iran or whoever else. Our lifetimes have been almost entirely peaceful - we have not had to watch an entire generation of young men marched off to fight and die in a foreign land. We have been blessed with peace. Yet some of the loudest voices demanding conscription or the dropping of bombs are men who will never be asked to fight. They have profited from that peace, lived comfortable lives from that peace. It's very easy to be brave with somebody else's blood on the line. There are circumstances in which our nation must fight, but our aim must be to give young men a reason to believe in that fight, to give them a Britain worth defending. Because millions of young white men are looking at a system that hates them, that has made them strangers in their own towns, that has decimated their industry? Why on earth would they bleed for that? I agree. Our establishment has spent years alienating young white men and now they suddenly remember their value when they need those lads to fight their wars. Restore Britain's duty is to give these young men a country worth fighting for, certainly NOT another endless foreign war to die in.

I want to address an allegation directly, because Reform politicians seem determined to spread the idea that I am somehow working in coordination with the Conservative Party and Kemi Badenoch. Yes, I was a member of the Conservative Party. In 1993. My children have since been born and grown up. It was more than thirty years ago. Literally, a lifetime ago. Many of the Reform leadership certainly can’t say the same. Yes, I've met Kemi Badenoch. I speak to her occasionally. I like her personally. We have worked together in Parliament. She spoke positively about our rape gang inquiry, and I thanked her for it. Numerous Conservative MPs have supported my parliamentary work, including our inquiry. Esther McVey. Nick Timothy. Jack Rankin. Peter Bedford. I could go on. I am not going to apologise for that. I will work with anyone in Parliament who is prepared to help deliver meaningful change. We have achieved results by doing precisely that. Does that mean I forgive the Conservatives for what they did to Britain between 2010 and 2024? Absolutely not. It was a betrayal. I have literally established a national political party to fight them at the ballot box. I am delighted when we beat them, which is a growing amount. All that should be a fairly substantial clue… But opposing a political party does not require you to behave like a petulant child towards every single person associated with it. Conservative MPs believed I would do a good job on the Public Accounts Committee. I accepted the opportunity to scrutinise government spending and fight for British taxpayers. Again, absolutely no apologies. I think we have delivered results. Now let's compare that with Reform. Reform tried to have me imprisoned over false allegations. I would be in prison today if they had their way. Despite everything, I have repeatedly attempted to work with Reform MPs in Parliament. I have invited them to support initiatives, collaborate on important issues and help deliver results. Time and again, those invitations have been ignored. My emails don’t even get a reply. I happily sign their motions and support their efforts, I did earlier this week. The feeling is not mutual. They complain. They moan. They attack. They endlessly manufacture personal grievances. But ask them to put their animosities aside and actually achieve something together? Suddenly, it's total silence. I've received more constructive support in Parliament from Labour MPs than from Reform. Think about that. It is grievance politics at its most pathetic. Negative, unproductive and deeply unprofessional. My position is incredibly straightforward. At elections, we are opponents. In Parliament, we have a responsibility to get things done. I believe that is what our constituents want us to do. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think not. Reform claim we stand in more local council Reform seats than anyone else. Yes, because so many more Reform councillors resign in disgrace than any other party. We are moving towards standing in 100% of local council by-elections. We’ve stood in Reform seats, Labour seats, Tory seats. Everywhere and anywhere. I intend to fight both Reform and the Conservatives for every vote. I want Restore Britain to win over millions of people who previously voted for those parties. But that does not mean I have to insult everyone I disagree with, refuse to speak to political opponents or sabotage decent initiatives because somebody else might receive a little credit. I was elected to represent my constituents, not to participate in an endless Westminster playground feud. Do I like Kemi Badenoch and some other Conservative MPs personally? Yes. Will I work with them when it benefits the British people? Yes. Do I fundamentally oppose the Conservative Party's record and want Restore Britain to defeat them electorally? Yes. Their 14 years of power was an utter betrayal, and is largely responsible for the social, economic and demographic vandalism we have endured. All three things can be true. Any serious adult should be capable of understanding that. It is not difficult to comprehend. I will work with Conservatives. I will work with Labour. I will work with Reform, if they ever decide to behave constructively. Reform's increasingly nasty, brash and personally unpleasant approach to politics says far more about them than it does about me. It’s just downright rude. They seem to believe that refusing to work with anyone is a demonstration of strength. In my view, it’s a weakness that erodes our politics and fails our constituents. I have said it again and again. I will work with anyone in parliament to deliver for the British people. And I make no apologies for doing so.