Andrew Griffith, the Conservative shadow chancellor, is set to unveil plans at the party's conference in Birmingham to cut taxes, reduce regulations, and lower housing costs. He aims to abolish Natural England and the Environment Agency and replace section 106 agreements with a single levy for developers to streamline funding for community projects. Griffith describes this initiative as "the most ambitious deregulation project in a generation," positioning it as an alternative to Labour's economic policies.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In September 2024, Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, addressed her party's annual conference in Birmingham, aiming to reshape perceptions following their worst-ever electoral defeat. She unveiled a 95-page document titled "The Right Way," designed to outline conservative principles and prepare for future governance. Badenoch emphasized that this new approach marked a departure from past failures and positioned the Conservatives as a fresh entity different from Labour under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who had recently won a significant victory. She characterized herself as an "old-school Conservative" focused on common sense policies like tightening welfare and expanding prisons, asserting these would not revert to the party's previous "nasty party" image but rather reflect timeless conservative values. To bolster her message, she drew parallels with Margaret Thatcher’s seminal work from 1976, suggesting that establishing solid foundations would lead to long-term success akin to Thatcher's historic tenure.
Written for “Tories Conference Pledges” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 17 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
Conservative shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith is to outline his plans for the UK economy, including hopes to cut taxes, red tape and house-building costs.
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Griffith → publish → taxes
Griffith and his colleagues will use day two of the party's conference in Birmingham to also explain how they would want to reduce food costs, support Heathrow Airport expansion and abolish Natural England and the Environment Agency.
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they → use → England
Another prospective policy is replacing agreements designed to compel developers to fund community projects and services in areas they want to build.
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they → replace → areas
Griffith will describe his approach as the "most ambitious deregulation project in a generation".
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Griffith → describe → generation
Reform UK suggested the Tories were "copying our policies".
uncertain
Tories → suggest → policies
Griffith's speech comes after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch published a 100-page document, external explaining her guiding principles and how her party would act should it return to government by winning the next general election.
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it → come → election
Following their historic defeat in the 2024 general election, the Conservatives have been trying to rebuild and convince voters that they can be trusted again.
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they → follow → voters
The Tories have faced repeated attacks from their opponents for their record in government, including on the economy, between 2010 and 2024.
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Tories → face → 2010
Griffith is expected to say: "No-one else is coming to save our economy.
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one → expect → economy
Only we can inject reality, tell the hard truths and make this a country we are proud to hand on to the next generation."
He will accuse Prime Minister Andy Burnham of wanting to pursue a "socialist fever dream of the 1970s", adding the Tories want to deliver "cheaper homes, lower taxes, and less red tape".
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Tories → inject → homes
Chancellor John Healey last week said all promises the government made would be "built on the rock of fiscal discipline" and the Budget on 28 October would "give families and businesses a bit of breathing space".
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Budget → say → space
During a series of speeches on Monday, Conservative shadow ministers will continue to make their case and provide more details of their proposals.
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ministers → continue → proposals
This will include ditching environmental and energy efficiency regulations, including the future homes standard.
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This → include → standard
The Tories believe their changes could cut the cost of delivering a new home by up to £50,000, which in turn they expect could save money for buyers.
uncertain
they → believe → buyers
A single levy for developers would be implemented in place of section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy, which fund projects in the community when building plans are progressed.
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plans → implement → community
The Conservatives argue this new charge would remove delays and improve how the funds are spent to the benefit of residents.
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funds → argue → residents
The party has been critical of the roles of Natural England and the Environment Agency in relation to house building and flood prevention work respectively, and wants to abolish both.
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party → want → both
Their functions would be looked after by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
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functions → look → Environment
The Extended Packaging Responsibility (EPR) scheme, which requires firms to cover the cost of collecting, recycling and disposing of packaging it produces, would also be scrapped by the Conservatives.
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it → require → Conservatives
The party believes this would help lift a "burden" from businesses and in turn could cut the cost of the weekly shop.
uncertain
this → believe → shop
On Heathrow, Griffith is expected to say the next Conservative government would do "whatever it takes to end the delays and boost capacity by backing the third runway".
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it → expect → runway
Plans for expansion were scrapped by the Tory-led coalition government in 2010.
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Plans → scrap → 2010
Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves championed the runway to boost the economy after Labour won power, although Burnham has refused to say whether he backs the project since becoming prime minister.
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he → champion → project
Burnham has described it as "principally... a matter for London and Londoners".
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Burnham → describe → London
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the Conservatives have "cemented their position as a pointless anti-growth anti-business party" by rejecting closer ties with Europe.
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Conservatives → say → Europe
She added: "No-one can take anything the Conservatives say on the economy seriously given their litany of fantasy-land financial pledges."
Reform UK economy spokesman Robert Jenrick accused the Conservatives of "once again copying our policies".
He added the Tories were unable to match Reform's pledge to raise the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000.
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Tories → add → 15,000
The Aporia
