Kemi Badenoch reveals her ‘golden rule’ to ‘get economy back on track’

Kemi Badenoch will promise to introduce a “golden rule” to get the deficit down and “get our economy back on track” if the Tories win the next election.

During her keynote speech at the end of the Conservative Party’s conference on Wednesday, the Tory leader will say her party is the only party “who can be trusted to meet the test of our generation”.

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“We are the only party with a plan to get our economy back on trust,” she is expected to say.

Ms Badenoch will tell Tory members she would introduce a “golden economic rule” to ensure for every pound saved, half or more will go to reduce the deficit and half will go towards tax cuts or spending to boost the economy.

She will accuse Chancellor Rachel Reeves of doubling the deficit “with her borrowing and tax doom loop” over the next decade.

“It’s not sustainable, and it’s not fair,” she will say.

“It is stealing from our children and grandchildren, and Conservatives will put a stop to it.”

Where will the cuts fall?

Ms Badenoch will say the Tories have already identified £47bn in savings, including £23bn from welfare, £8bn from the civil service and £7bn from the overseas aid budget.

She will also announce plans to reform the higher education sector, double apprenticeship funding, and back high-value courses for young people.

She will pledge to end “debt trap” degrees, which she will say offer poor value to students and taxpayers, and instead fund “worthwhile courses”.

This will lead to savings, she will say, to pay for the doubling of apprenticeship funding, in addition to the employers’ apprenticeship levy funds currently paid by UK employers with a payroll of more than £3m.

“This can’t be right – young people in Britain deserve a better deal, which is why the Conservatives are throwing out the status quo,” she is expected to say.

Read more:
Twenty Tory councillors defect to Reform
Beth Rigby on tough questions facing Badenoch

The plan would see more apprenticeships for people aged 18-21, while any remaining funding would be used to support “high-quality” courses at research-intensive British universities.

The Conservative Party’s conference has been marred by a lacklustre attendance, the defection of 20 Tory councillors to Reform, and a Sky News/YouGov poll which found half of the party’s members think Ms Badenoch should not lead the party into the next election.