Kemi Badenoch will today vow to battle for the "soul of this nation" as she continues her push for a Tory revival. The Conservative leader will pledge to "restore confidence in the public finances" and ready her party for the next general election.
Keynote speech expected to include major tax pledge
Her party's annual conference in Birmingham has already seen a blizzard of fresh policies including a promise to build 50,000 extra prison places and an iron dome-style air defence system. Many are expecting the Tory chief to use her keynote speech to announce a major pledge to change Inheritance Tax if she becomes Prime Minister. Mrs Badenoch has also said she is committed to keeping the pension Triple Lock.
The moves are designed to create major dividing lines between her party and Labour and show voters that the Tories have a broader range of policies than Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
Warning of a 'critical moment'
Speculation continues that Andy Burnham will call an early general election - in 2027 or 2028 - with Mrs Badenoch expected to say "there is a fight coming in British politics."
"It will be a battle for the soul of this nation. A battle of ideas," she will tell the Tory faithful. "A battle that goes to the very core of who we are and what kind of country we want to be."
Mrs Badenoch will accuse Labour of wanting to "wind back the clock to failed ideas of the past" and pushing up taxes, insisting that only the Conservatives can fight against this. And she will warn that Britain is facing a "critical moment" as Western economies become "more fragile".
"We are running out of money and running out of time to put it right," she is expected to say. "We have a fight on our hands and we need to be ready."
Economic message and polling position
Pitching her party as the only one that can revive the country's economic malaise, she will add: "The fundamental problem we have right now is that our country is running out of money. Almost everything else flows from this.
"Our national debt currently stands at nearly £3 trillion and we are adding more than £100 billion every year. Last year, four in every five pounds borrowed by the Government was spent on debt interest alone. That's like taking out a second mortgage just to pay the interest on your first mortgage. This is crazy. That is why growing the economy will be the central organising principle of the next Conservative government."
She will add: "Restoring confidence in the public finances is the foundation of economic growth." The Tories are currently sitting in third place in the polls on 17%, with Reform UK on 22% and Labour on 26%.
Conference policies and response
On Tuesday the party pledged to halve employer national insurance on jobs worked by young people if they win the next election. The flat rate for businesses would be slashed from 15% to 7.5% for workers aged 21 to 24 at an estimated cost of £2.3 billion.
It is hoped the move would put tens of thousands of young people in jobs, meaning that many claiming out-of-work benefits would instead contribute taxes to the Exchequer. An estimated 981,000 young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment, or training (NEET) between April and June this year, according to latest Office for National Statistics figures.
Under party proposals for a "tough love" approach to unemployed under-25s announced last week, young people would be barred from going straight from school on to benefits if the Tories returned to power. People aged 16-24 who have not worked continuously for six months would be unable to claim universal credit, the Conservatives said.
Despite the largely positive response to the conference, Mrs Badenoch has faced criticism over empty seats in the main hall. The Opposition leader said "I have no absolutely idea what you're talking about" when questioned over jokes about turnout made by political opponents and commentators including Jeremy Clarkson.
Appearing onstage as a surprise guest at the conference in Birmingham on Monday, the farmer and TV personality had quipped that "a lot of people have come dressed as seats". Asked whether Clarkson's observation had been embarrassing, Mrs Badenoch told Channel 5 News: "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. This conference is buzzing. We have many more people than last year. I saw Jeremy Clarkson, I saw Jeremy Clarkson's event – people were standing up, you could barely see him."
In a rally speech on Sunday, Mrs Badenoch insisted the Conservatives "will win" the next general election as she seeks to reverse the party's fortunes after its worst ever electoral defeat in 2024. With Labour leading recent opinion polls despite an increase in her personal approval ratings, the Tory leader said on Tuesday she was "working on fixing the brand and that means going back to our core principles".
