Badenoch to tell Tory conference next election is a "battle for the soul of this nation"

Mixed · 2Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, is expected to tell the party conference in Birmingham on Wednesday that the next general election will be a "battle for the soul of this nation. A battle of ideas", according to extracts of the speech released in advance. 1 2 Mixed · 2She will say the fight is one "that we have not seen in this country for more than half a century" and that it goes "to the very core of who we are and what kind of country we want to be". 1 2 Centre · 1The Evening Standard reports she will warn that "something is going to break" without better economic growth, saying "We are running out of money and running out of time to put it right". 1

Mixed · 2She is expected to accuse Labour under Prime Minister Andy Burnham of wanting to "wind back the clock to failed ideas of the past", of believing "growth is created by politicians" and of presiding over a "tax doom loop"; City A.M. says she will argue taxes will rise under Burnham, who believes the "government knows best". 1 2 Mixed · 2Badenoch will present the Conservatives as "fighting again for the belief that what people earn belongs to them, not government" and will restate a "golden economic rule" that half of identified savings from policy changes goes to cutting the deficit. 1 2 Centre · 1The Standard says the Tories have put the economy at the top of their conference agenda, focusing less on the "culture wars" of previous years, and that Badenoch published a booklet, The Right Way, on Sunday, inspired by a 1970s document on Thatcherism, which acknowledges failures by previous Conservative governments on net zero, immigration and Brexit. 1

Mixed · 2Policy pledges announced at the conference include halving employer national insurance for workers aged 21 to 24 (City A.M. puts the cost at just over £2bn), scrapping the "mansion tax" on English properties worth more than £2 million, abolishing arm's-length bodies including the Environment Agency, and spending £10 billion over 10 years on a "Britannia Shield" air and missile defence system. 1 2 Right · 1City A.M. adds that Tory officials are preparing for the possibility of an early election, that Badenoch warned in Tuesday interviews of a "hung parliament" if one were called, and that rumours suggest an inheritance tax announcement. 2 Mixed · 2On polling, the Standard says the Tories are behind Labour and narrowly trailing Reform UK, while City A.M.'s latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll had Labour one point ahead of Reform UK and six points ahead of the Tories. 1 2

Mixed · 2Political opponents have accused the Conservatives of "fantasy economics" by understating the cost of their plans, which the Tories say are fully funded; questions also remain over their commitment to the pension triple lock, which Burnham has pledged to adjust to help fund a National Care Service, with Badenoch saying it would be "difficult" to commit to reinstating it if Labour changed or scrapped it. 1 2