Sir Mel Stride is the Shadow Chancellor and MP for Central Devon.
Whatever the noise over the last couple of days the challenges we face as a country and the vital importance of a Conservative approach to meeting them has not changed a jot.
Right at the heart of those challenges lies our economy. Families feel squeezed. Businesses punished. Confidence has been crushed.
Labour’s economic mismanagement has been a disaster for us all.
That is in the context of an economy which is underperforming compared to other advanced countries. In fact, if we could get our productivity up to US levels, or even those of France or Germany, our economy could be 20-35 per cent larger than it is today. That kind of performance would solve virtually all the major fiscal challenges we now face. Dealing with a debt mountain in an age of higher interest rates, spending more on defence, supporting an ageing population and addressing the intergenerational unfairness around homeownership and low real wage growth.
There is of course no five-minute fix to recapturing growth. Creating the right plan requires deep, focused and disciplined work – all starting from Conservative principles – understanding that businesses are the true engine of expansion and that every person in our country produces to their best when economic incentives are properly aligned and barriers to activity are swept out of the way.
From this starting point and through deep work across several key areas (tax, regulation, welfare, public sector renewal, supply side reform, skills, energy and much else) we Conservatives are bringing together a clear responsible plan for a radically re-wired economy. One that will transform our country for the better. Just as Margaret Thatcher in opposition all those years ago showed a that deep seriousness of purpose, so we are doing now.
And we do so knowing that the Conservative Party is at its strongest when it is strong on the economy. That is where livelihoods are protected, futures are built and public trust is earned.
That is what Kemi and I are focused on.
Now, Britain is a nation that has led the world in science, culture and innovation. We created the first modern democracy, led the Industrial Revolution, helped defeat tyranny in two world wars, and gave the world everything from penicillin to the jet engine to the internet. This is not nostalgia, but perspective. It tells us, that whilst of course we have serious challenges, we should not slide into presenting our great country simply as some endless stream of shocking tales and fatalistic doom mongering – even if that gets clicks.
We owe it to our country to be clear-eyed about the challenges yes, but also to celebrate the extraordinary potential that lies within our shores and recognise that the capacity to renew is ever there and in our own hands. That our finest days can lie ahead. I believe we should be both proud and optimistic about Britain and certainly not constantly talking it down.
Labour of course have shown us how not to do it.
They went on a colossal spending spree with no focus on productivity or value for money. With no plan they broke their pledges on tax with a £40 billion tax grab – the biggest in a generation – including a £25 billion tax on jobs. They said they would not come back for more. They did – to the tune of a further £26 billion. Now Reeves won’t rule out coming back a third time. Labour’s tax rises are hitting everyone. Workers. Pensioners. Farmers. Small business owners.
The results are clear. Inflation almost doubled. Unemployment is at its highest since the pandemic. Nearly 200,000 jobs have been lost. Businesses are closing. Debt is surging. Growth has stalled. This is what happens when you fall into a deadly cycle of higher taxes, lower growth, higher borrowing, followed by higher taxes still.
Reform, meanwhile, peddle fantasy economics.
Nigel Farage has never explained which of the unfunded £140 billion of commitments made in 2024 still stand. A speech supposedly about restraint last November promised substantial new spending, without a credible account of the cost or the funding. Reform continue to back scrapping the two-child benefit cap, which would add billions more to the benefits bill.
They also remain committed to nationalisation without compensation – “wiping out shareholders and bondholders can be justified”, in the words of Farage. That could hit pension funds, undermine property rights and deter investment.
Labour and Reform are different parties, but they have a similar destination. Economic ruin.
At our Party Conference in October, I set out a clear downpayment on a very different approach. One based on fiscal responsibility, controlling spending and lowering taxes.
A detailed plan for £47 billion of savings – including from welfare reform, a slimmer civil service and spending less on foreign aid. That meant we could commit to completely abolish stamp duty on the family home, scrap business rates entirely for thousands of high street shops and pubs, and a £5,000 tax cut for young people starting their first job. All underpinned by our golden economic rule – that at least half of the savings we make will go towards bringing down government borrowing to ensure we are living within our means.
That is part of an ambitious, responsible, Conservative plan to build a stronger economy. And we will continue to build on those policies as we deliver our programme for the next Conservative government.
That is what a serious party that is using its time in opposition wisely looks like. Developing ambitious but responsible plans to completely re-wire and transform our economy. Led by Kemi, who over the last few days, has shown us once again that she stands for something the country wants – clarity, courage, competence and above all honesty. History has shown that these are qualities that in time cut through.
I do not doubt for one minute how hard the challenges are for our Party – but we can, and will, overcome them. We have the plan – and under Kemi’s leadership, we have the strength to deliver it.
