Kemi Badenoch is rallying her Tory troops with a brutal attack on Labour‘s ‘tax doom loop’ today.
Closing the party’s conference in Birmingham, Mrs Badenoch is laying out a starkly Thatcherite alternative path for the country.
That includes slashing the burden for firms wanting to employ young people, and curbing inheritance tax – which has been hitting growing numbers of middle-class families.
Mrs Badenoch teed up the next election – which senior Conservatives still believe could come as early as next year – as a ‘battle for the soul of this nation’.
‘One one side we have a party that wants to wind back the clock… we know that these ideas will make every single person in this country poorer,’ she said.
In a swipe at Andy Burnham‘s communications style, she added: ‘Just because these ideas are delivered on TikTok doesn’t make them any less dangerous than they have ever been.’
Mrs Badenoch said the ‘fundamental problem’ facing the country was that it is ‘running out of money’. ‘More government costs more money,’ she said.
The big set-piece moment comes at the end of a four-day gathering that has cemented Mrs Badenoch’s authority.
The Tories have been declaring their intent to make the state smaller in a bid to get the UK economy growing and competing once again.
Pledges have included cutting a tax every year if they win power, including removing the ‘cliff edge’ that strips childcare from high earners. Funding would be freed up with tough restrictions on benefits.
Net Zero red tape and quangos have also been in the party’s crosshairs, while shadow ministers have backed a huge expansion in defence spending and pressing ahead with Heathrow’s third runway.
Kemi Badenoch warned that Western countries were ‘running out of money and time’
Kemi Badenoch arriving at the Tory conference with husband Hamish today ahead of her big speech
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The shadow cabinet and Tory activists singing the national anthem as conference wrapped up in Birmingham today
In her speech, Mrs Badenoch said the country once again faces a Left-wing Labour government that believes economic growth is ‘created by politicians’ and a PM who wants to ‘wind back the clock to failed ideas of the past’.
‘They think government knows best. They think that your income, your pension and your savings are theirs to take and then hand out as they see fit,’ she said.
‘They claim that what they are doing is compassionate but we know that these ideas will make every single person in this country poorer.’
Mrs Badenoch accused Labour of believing ‘growth is created by politicians’ and presiding over a ‘tax doom loop that is making us all poorer’.
She warned that ‘everything’ now depends on ending the ‘crazy’ situation of Britain borrowing tens of billions of pounds a year to pay the interest on a national debt approaching £3trillion.
Mrs Badenoch hammered Mr Burnham for failing to focus on defence in his conference speech last week.
The Tory leader urged her party to make economic growth ‘the central organising principle’ of the next government.
Insisting the Conservatives are ‘coming back’, Mrs Badenoch said: ‘Let me tell you I am not someone who gets written off and neither is the Conservative Party.
‘There is a reason why the Conservative Party is still here after 200 years. We have adapted to every single challenge and every single age and we are doing it again.’
She joked about defections to Reform – including former frontbencher Robert Jenrick – saying the party had an ‘export boom of drama queens’.
Mrs Badenoch dismissed the idea of an alliance with Nigel Farage, saying: ‘We are not uniting with that… people deserve better.’
But she also appealed for Reform voters to come back.
Mrs Badenoch said the ‘secret’ about her shadow cabinet was that ‘we actually like each other’.
‘This party is now the no-drama party, we are the no-nonsense party,’ she said.
She likened the Conservatives to Marks & Spencer, saying the brand had been criticised for being ‘a bit stuffy and stuck in the past’ and some had questioned whether it would ‘survive’.
‘Now, M&S is back in fashion – great looks at affordable prices,’ she said.
‘They have adapted their style for today’s market and people are flooding back, including me, as you’ve probably noticed this week.
‘Just like M&S, we must learn from our mistakes, win back trust and make people feel good about our party again.’
Mrs Badenoch said: ‘I want us to win in three years’ time.
‘To be honest, I want us to win next week. We are ready for an election whenever it’s called because we are the only party that understands what has gone wrong in Britain and knows how to put it right.’
Last year Mrs Badenoch delighted the party faithful by committing to scrapping stamp duty altogether.
Employers have blamed a triple whammy of changes under Labour for making it less attractive to employ young people.
These include hikes in the youth minimum wage, a wave of new employment rights and increases in NI.
Mrs Badenoch has seen a steady improvement in her ratings, although the Tory party’s polling has lagged behind
The Tory leader preparing her speech at the conference hotel yesterday
Under the new Tory plans, employer NI for workers aged 21 to 24 will be halved from 15 per cent to just 7.5 per cent.
This would allow businesses to keep an average of £1,545 for every young worker, making them more attractive to hire.
The move will cost £2.3billion a year and will be funded by cuts from existing spending as part of a new ‘Conservative Savings Plan’ to be published today.
