Reform UK would look to overhaul public-sector pensions, the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice has said.

At an event in the City of London, Mr Tice told business chiefs the party also wants to lead a period of economic growth akin to the so-called Big Bang of the 1980s which happened under the Thatcher government.

Reform has been on a charm offensive with leaders from the world of business in recent weeks as the party aims to establish economic credibility after axing a series of promises to implement sweeping tax cuts made at the election.

Speaking at Bloomberg’s headquarters in central London, Mr Tice said: “We have to again ask really serious questions about the way we do pensions in this country.”

The liability for defined public sector benefit schemes is “growing at somewhere between £30 billion and £50 billion a year”, Mr Tice said.

“I don’t think it is unreasonable to sit down with the unions and to say ‘look, for new employees we can do this differently’.

“The private sector did this 25 years ago. But if we are not even prepared to have that discussion then we are just not going to make the progress that we need because that increasing liability … is completely unsustainable.”

Unions have reportedly warned that shifting towards defined contribution schemes, seen as less generous, could cost billions.

Mr Tice also set out his party’s aims at growing the economy and insisted regulatory reform was needed to see this through.

He said: “Here we are … 39 years on after the Big Bang. My contention to you is that now is actually the time for the big reform.

“We have to stand back and say, ‘How’s it going? What can we do better?’ and, in a sense, we’ve actually got a bit of time.

“We’re in early stages of an electoral cycle, so we can actually ask some really sort of big picture questions with a clean sheet of paper, almost like a sort of brainstorming session in the boardroom.”

The senior Reform MP also suggested politicians need to challenge the Bank of England more often, including the make-up of its monetary policy committee and whether it should be given a “mandate” for growth.

Investors who started a monthly SIP of Rs 10,000 in some of India’s top equity mutual funds 25 years ago would have turned their investments into crores today, according to an analysis by ETMutualFunds. The study covered 36 equity mutual funds that have completed 25 years in the market, excluding hybrid, sectoral, and thematic schemes, to show the long-term wealth-creation potential of consistent SIP investing.Nippon India Growth Mid Cap Fund (earlier Nippon India Growth Fund) led the list, turning a Rs 10,000 monthly SIP into Rs 8.81 crore over 25 years, with an XIRR of 22.14%. Franklin India Mid Cap Fund (earlier Franklin India Prima Fund) grew the same SIP contribution to Rs 6.52 crore, delivering an XIRR of 20.32%. HDFC Flexi Cap Fund (erstwhile HDFC Equity Fund) converted the monthly investment into Rs 5.91 crore, with an XIRR of 19.72%.

Strong performers from SBI, Franklin, and HDFC funds

Three SBI Mutual Fund schemes also delivered impressive returns. SBI Contra Fund (previously SBI Magnum Contra), SBI ELSS Tax Saver Fund (previously SBI Long Term Equity Fund), and SBI Large & Midcap Fund (previously SBI Magnum Multiplier Fund) turned a Rs 10,000 monthly SIP into between Rs 5.02 crore and Rs 5.81 crore over 25 years.Other top performers included Franklin India Flexi Cap Fund (earlier Franklin India Equity Fund), which grew the SIP to Rs 4.75 crore with an 18.40% XIRR. ELSS funds HDFC ELSS Tax Saver (earlier HDFC TaxSaver) and ICICI Pru ELSS Tax Saver Fund (earlier ICICI Pru LT Equity Fund) delivered Rs 4.70 crore and Rs 4.69 crore respectively. ICICI Pru Large & Mid Cap Fund (earlier ICICI Pru Top 100 Fund) returned Rs 3.93 crore with an XIRR of 17.24%.Funds from Quant Mutual Fund and Sundaram Mutual Fund also performed well. Quant Small Cap Fund (earlier Quant Income Bond) and Quant ELSS Tax Saver Fund (earlier Quant Tax Plan) turned a Rs 10,000 SIP into Rs 3.37 crore and Rs 3.35 crore, with XIRRs of 16.31% and 16.26%. Sundaram ELSS Tax Saver Fund (earlier Sundaram Tax Savings Fund) and Sundaram Multi Cap Fund (earlier Principal Multi Cap Growth Fund) delivered Rs 3.20 crore and Rs 3.09 crore respectively. LIC MF Flexi Cap Fund (earlier LIC MF Multi Cap Fund) was at the lower end, with Rs 1.55 crore and an XIRR of 11.47%.

Fund history and methodology

Among the 36 schemes, 18 funds have completed over 30 years in the market, while the rest have been in existence between 25.04 years and 29.62 years. The SIP performance was calculated from 4 November 2000 to 4 November 2025, considering only regular and growth options.It’s important to note that the exercise by ET is not a recommendation. “The exercise was done to find if an investor who made a SIP of Rs 10,000 25 years ago, what would have been the value of that investment now. One should not make investment or redemption decisions based on the above exercise. One should always make investment decisions based on their risk tolerance, investment horizon, and financial goals,” the report said.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)

India’s fuel exports dropped 21% month-on-month in October as refiners prioritised domestic demand during the festive season and redirected supplies to cover gaps caused by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s (HPCL) refinery outage. Exports remained constrained for Nayara Energy due to sanctions.Fuel shipments fell to 1.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in October from 1.58 mbd in September, with exports of petrol, diesel, and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) all declining, according to Kpler, a global real-time data and analytics provider. Diesel, which makes up about half of India’s total fuel exports, decreased 12.5% month-on-month to 665,000 bpd.“The drop likely reflects stronger domestic demand, a greater share of output redirected to the local market, and operational constraints such as HPCL’s Mumbai refinery issues and ongoing maintenance at other sites,” said Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst-refining and modelling at Kpler, as quoted by ET. “We may see a pickup in exports during November and December, as refiners rebalance runs and domestic demand eases slightly,” he added.HPCL had to shut one of its processing units after receiving contaminated crude from Hindustan Oil Exploration Company, creating tightness in fuel supply that private refiners helped ease.Reliance Industries and Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy experienced the most significant decline in exports. Nayara, affected by sanctions and unable to access traditional export markets, focused on the domestic market, supplying 90,000 bpd locally in October—50% higher than in September and the highest since January. Government support, including doubling train capacity for fuel transport, helped the company meet local demand.Domestic fuel consumption showed mixed trends in October. Petrol sales rose 7% year-on-year, driven by festive travel and vehicle purchases. Diesel sales fell slightly by 0.5% after a strong 6% rise in September. ATF sales increased 1.6%, while liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales grew 5.4%. Private refiners recorded higher sales velocity compared to state-run counterparts.