What is Reform UK’s ‘Sexual Economy’?

Image - Mike Scheid

In an interview with House magazine, Ex-Tory MP Danny Kruger recently stated that he believes, as a society, we are currently functioning in a totally “unregulated sexual economy.”

Kruger is not talking about the sex industry; he’s talking about our relationships, and it appears that our autonomous decision to marry or have children is yet again up for debate.

Having defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK in September 2025, Kruger is currently leading the department which is “preparing the party for government” and in his interview with House, he revealed the direction in which Reform are heading.

Kruger stated that Reform UK is developing a series of pro-natalist policies, such as economic incentives that they hope will encourage families to have more children.

In recent months, the “issue” of women’s fertility and the declining birth rate has been a strong talking point for Reform. For example, the recently defeated Matt Goodwin (who ran in Gorton and Denton by-election), has faced significant criticism over his controversial comments about women’s fertility in an unearthed YouTube video. In the video, which was posted to his private account in November 2024, Goodwin stated that “young girls and women” need to be given a “biological reality check” and that “many women in Britain are having children much too late in life.”

While the party’s potential development of ‘fertility-boosting’ policies is troubling enough, the discourse surrounding marriage, family, and sexuality contributes to a broader and more concerning debate about individual autonomy.

So, what is the ‘sexual economy’?

According to Kruger, the sexual economy can be defined by the means of marriage. In Kruger’s interview with House he stated that “marriage traditionally was the means by which sexual relations between men and women were regulated.” However, it appears that Kruger no longer considers this is an applicable measure, instead arguing that the UK is currently suffering from a “totally unregulated sexual economy.”

On the surface, he appears to be talking about the structures that underpin our relationships and the choices we make within those. But ultimately, he is suggesting that heterosexual marriages are the only way to keep this metaphorical economy regulated.

What impact will this have on society?

Well, when Kruger was asked about what role Reform would play in ‘fixing’ this “unregulated sexual economy,” he answered that his party could “play a limited but an important role” in resetting sexual culture.

But one could argue that Reform’s “limited” capacity may in fact be limitless, not in fixing the so-called “unregulated sexual economy”, but in contributing to the exclusion of those who don’t fit inside of Kruger’s conventional family dynamic. The potential development of economic incentives that only benefit a certain group of people will become very damaging for queer-communities, single parents, and those who choose to not marry or have kids.

Some might brush this aside as hypothetical talk, remembering that Reform do not have the power to implement this. But the impact of these discussions in a wider discourse will undoubtedly “contribute to a sense of cultural antagonism.”

Kruger previously voiced these opinions at the National Conservative Conference in 2023 (when he was a Tory MP), stating that marriage is “the most stable form of family.”

“The normative family, held together by marriage by mother and father sticking together for the sake of the children and the sake of their own parents and the sake of themselves, this is the only possible basis for a safe and successful society.”

“Marriage is not all about you, it’s not just a private arrangement, it’s a public act by which you undertake to live for someone else for their sake and the sake of your children and the sake of wider society.”

By framing heterosexual marriage as a necessary foundation for a stable society, we are turning backwards.

In addition to this, in Kruger’s interview he revealed that he is personally against the 2022 introduction of no-fault divorce, claiming that it “basically means that your vows don’t matter.” No-fault divorce, which is officially known as the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, enables couples to divorce without having to assign blame or prove fault, essentially meaning that a statement of irretrievable breakdown is sufficient. This legal process has been proved to reduce conflict and stress for families and children.

Whilst Kruger does not commit to overturning this, admitting that “I don’t think that would be party policy, to change that,” setting the personal expectation that couples should stay together for the “sake of the children” and disturbingly, for the “sake of wider society” is incredibly unrealistic.

Alongside this, Suella Braverman has recently announced that Reform would plan to repeal the Equality Act 2010 if the party got into power, which (alongside a multitude of other things) could significantly weaken one’s maternity leave rights.

This discourse places an immense pressure on women, and although the party currently lacks the power to translate these ideas into law, it is paramount to consider the expectation this is setting.

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