Kemi Badenoch has slammed Reform UK as the party of high taxes and high benefits in a speech attempting to recast the Tories as the party of business. Speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce conference, Ms Badenoch said only the Conservative Party recognises that the welfare state is in complete crisis following the Covid pandemic, with too many gaming the system to avoid work.
The Tory leader said that while Nigel Farage may be leading polls, Reform UK is achieving this by promising policies they cannot afford including “even more benefits”. She insisted: “No one except the Tories are talking about reducing welfare, and job creation.” Despite the Conservative Party’s struggling poll ratings, a poll in February found that they are still the most trusted on the economy.
Ms Badenoch promised that should she enter No. 10 after the next election, she would tear up many of Labour’s policies weighing down businesses with red tape.
She told the BCC: “I’ve said that we will remove Labour’s red tape. We will remove the ability to strike with zero warning, something businesses cannot prepare for; we will remove the trade union right to roam in business premises; we will remove the new fair work agency, another quango that is designed to hound British business even when no employee has raised a complaint.”
She accused Labour of having forgotten a “fundamental truth”, that every pound spent by government comes from “makers”.
She contrasted these “makers”, including both private sector entrepreneurs and nurses, to “takers” such as public sector consultants, illegal migrants, and those unfairly living off benefits.
Ms Badenoch also insisted that she would not repeat the previous Conservative governments’ mistake of accepting the previous Blair legacy and building on it, promising: “We are not going to do that again”.
The Tory leader condemned Labour’s handling of the economy during its first year, and the PMs’ draining authority as a result of the ongoing welfare cuts civil war.
She told business leaders at the central London conference: “Since July, we’ve had inflation higher, unemployment up, growth halved. I mean, this is change, but it is change for the worse.
“It didn’t have to happen… the rise in national insurance is killing jobs, it is making it impossible for businesses to grow.
“And then we see that family businesses, which form the backbone of our communities, have been hit with increased taxes.”
She warned that changes to inheritance tax for small, family-run businesses could see over 125,000 job losses over the coming years.
Ms Badenoch promised that a future Tory government will “unleash the animal spirit of business”, and slash the welfare bill by getting tough on those using mental health conditions such as anxiety as an excuse not to work.