Kemi Badenoch has issued a rallying cry to “Buy British” to protect the nation’s businesses from Labour’s punishing jobs tax and Trump’s tariffs. The Conservative leader told the Daily Express the Government has smashed confidence and stifled growth.
And in a gloomy assessment, Mrs Badenoch warned “we can’t buy British if British jobs are going” because of national insurance hikes. Ministers have faced growing calls to back a “Buy British” campaign as fears intensify over President Trump’s trade levies.
Washington has clobbered the UK with a blanket 10% tariff on practically all goods entering the world’s biggest economy, which is expected to hurt British exporters and dampen growth.
Mrs Badenoch said she believes in “always” buying British and where possible “buy local”.
She added: “But we can’t buy British if British jobs are going and if British companies are closing because of the jobs tax and because of the terrible decisions that Labour is making on the economy, inflation is up, growth has halved and , business confidence is down, and that’s what really worries me, that we won’t be able to buy British because of what is happening to our economy.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has shot down the prospect of such a scheme to promote British products, saying she doesn’t want the UK to become “inward looking”
But Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is considering changing procurement rules to give British firms an advantage when bidding for government contracts.
It could apply to new transport infrastructure, offshore wind or defence investments.
The plan was revived amid concerns about the effect of President Trump’s tariffs on the UK manufacturing industries.
And ministers on Sunday confirmed it has temporarily suspended the UK Global Tariff on 89 products to ease the cost of living crisis.
The products include plywood and plastics, which are essential for construction, and pasta, fruit juices, coconut oil and pine nuts.
But Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith warned that “we need to save Britain from this punishing socialist Government”.
Mr Griffith told the Daily Express: “Keir Starmer has raised taxes to record highs, crushed the spirit of private enterprise and trash talked the economy. But it should come as no surprise – they don’t understand business and they never will. It is just not in their DNA or represented around the cabinet table.
“We need to save Britain from this punishing socialist government. Until the chance at the ballot box, one thing we can all do now is to buy British.
“Labour clearly hasn’t twigged that, in their war on business, it is hard working families who suffer.
“Britain is a nation of shopkeepers. And that is under threat because of this Labour government’s incompetence.
“First, they have tried to destroy our farmers’ livelihoods with the family farms tax. And then they have set about attacking businesses however they can. It is a potentially lethal one-two punch for Britain’s businesses. Only buying British will stop the most anti-business government we’ve seen since the 1970s delivering a knockout blow.”
And farmers have today declared buying British will prevent family businesses from facing financial ruin.
Farmers are furious with the Government over its changes to agricultural and business property relief announced at October’s Budget.
The Chancellor said that from April 2026, combined agricultural and business property assets up to £1 million will still receive 100% relief but anything above that will be taxed at an effective rate of 20%.
Asset rich farmers who are cash poor fear they will have to sell off their land – making it unviable for food production – to foot the tax bill.
CBI Economics has predicted more than 200,000 jobs in family businesses and farms could be lost because of the changes.
The Daily Express’s Save Britain’s Family Farms crusade has demanded Ms Reeves’s reverses her decision.
More than 1,700 farms on the outskirts of English towns and cities have already disappeared since 2010.
The loss equates to 56,000 hectares of farmland, an area similar in size to the city of Leeds, and represents a critical loss for both food security and environmental sustainability.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance said: “British produce is internationally renowned for its quality and nutrition.
“Buying British food and drink is a fantastic way of supporting our farmers, growers and producers, who in the face of the last Budget, need public support now more than ever”.
Farmer Ben Aveling told the Daily Express: “More focus on British produce, and less on import and export, will mean the economy will have to pivot and hopefully champion British produce more than ever.
“Buying British produce not only supports the nation’s farmers, but it also supports food security for the future.
“When you buy food from this country, you are directly helping the nation sustain itself.
“It is so important.
“Even more than the good it can do for the nation; British produce has some of the best standards in the world.
“When Buying British, you are guaranteed peace of mind in quality and ethics.”
Farmer Olly Harrison added: “Buying British food will result in less carbon emissions from transporting produce.
“It will be fresh and we won’t be importing produce from countries that might be short of it.
“If people don’t use UK agriculture, it won’t be here in the future, which is a dangerous place for any country when it can’t feed itself.”
When pressed on the idea of a buy British scheme, Ms Reeves told the House of Commons: “In terms of buying British, I think everyone will make their own decisions.
“What we don’t want to see is a trade war with Britain becoming inward looking, because if every country in the world decided that they only wanted to buy things produced in their country, that is not a good way forward.
“Our country has benefited hugely from access to global markets and we will continue to want to be able to do that because that is in our national interest for working people and for businesses in this country.”