Griffith pledges to scrap at least one tax in every budget

Andrew Griffith, the new Shadow Chancellor, used his first Conservative Party conference speech in Birmingham to set out a tax-cutting and deregulation agenda. He argued that a smaller state and fewer rules would deliver economic growth. The speech came on the second day of the conference, as the party tried to present itself as ready for government.

Griffith said his five priorities were lower, simpler and fairer taxes; cheaper energy; getting people into work; cutting red tape; and backing business. He told delegates: 'I didn't come here to raise taxes, I came to lower them.' He said it would be his ambition to scrap at least one tax in every budget. He also promised to abolish Labour's high-value council tax surcharge, which the Conservatives call the mansion tax or family homes tax, on properties over £2 million in England from 2028. He promised to scrap the packaging tax as well.

The deregulation plans included scrapping Natural England and the Environment Agency in England, with their functions taken in-house within government. Griffith blamed the agencies for overly restricting building. He said net zero regulations on home builders should be removed, arguing that heat pumps, EV chargers and solar panels should be optional rather than mandatory. He claimed this would reduce the cost of building a new home by £50,000. He also said he would clear obstacles to a third runway at Heathrow, refusing to accept that the country must wait until the 2040s. He criticised what he called lawfare and judicial review, saying they made building too hard, too slow and too expensive.

Griffith framed the agenda as a correction to past Conservative government. He said the party had done too much to restrict economic freedom while in office. He also promised to always come up with the money to defend Britain and said the next decade could be a golden decade. He urged young people considering leaving the UK to stay, saying an average of 350 young people left Britain every day.

The plans drew criticism from environmental groups, who said removing protections was the wrong approach. There was also scepticism about whether the Conservatives would shrink the state, given that previous governments had promised similar deregulation. Business groups welcomed the focus on competitiveness but warned that scrapping rules could create uncertainty. Pollsters noted the party remains behind Labour and Reform UK, with ratings around or below its worst ever election result.