Story summary
In September, Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party in the U.K., addressed her party's annual conference in Birmingham. She presented a 95-page document titled "The Right Way," aimed at outlining principles for future governance and positioning the Tories as a reformed entity distinct from their previous image, especially after suffering their worst-ever electoral defeat in 2024.
Badenoch emphasized the party's commitment to being the "common sense" alternative to Labour under Prime Minister Andy Burnham. She dismissed criticism that her policies on welfare cuts and prison expansion might revive the Tories' historical reputation as the "nasty party," asserting instead that these measures reflect a pragmatic approach to governance.
At the conference, Badenoch also highlighted plans to scrap environmental bodies like the Environment Agency and Natural England, arguing this would streamline regulations and accelerate infrastructure projects. This move reflects her strategy of focusing on economic growth, an area where Labour has shown less emphasis compared to other political parties like Reform UK.
Badenoch's presentation was met with enthusiasm from Conservative activists and politicians who gathered at the conference venue in Birmingham. She aims to solidify her leadership and rally support for future elections by positioning herself as a leader of common sense and personal responsibility, distinct from what she perceives as Labour's less decisive approach under Burnham.
Written for “Tories Conference Pledges” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.
Kemi Badenoch has warned “radical measures may be necessary” at the next election, as her shadow chancellor uses the Conservative Party conference to unveil his plan for “the most ambitious deregulation project in a generation”.
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chancellor → warn → generation
In it, Mrs Badenoch warned “living standards have stalled” and added that “regulation has accumulated faster than anyone can remove it”.
She also called for the UK to “restore domestic North Sea production”, saying that the country “should have energy that is cheap, abundant and secure”.
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that → warn → energy
She wrote that “net zero taxes, subsidies and system costs are estimated to make up around 40% of the cost of electricity in Britain”.
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taxes → write → Britain
Restricting new licences to drill for fossil fuels in the North Sea, Mrs Badenoch claimed, was “devastating the country”.
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Badenoch → restrict → country
She described the document as her “opening bid”, and added: “There will be more to come.”
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She → describe → bid
Mrs Badenoch continued: “The Prime Minister has appeared to rule out a general election before 2029.
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Minister → continue → 2029
We shall see.
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We → see → ?
“We shall also have to see how much further our country will have deteriorated during that time, and what even more radical measures may be necessary to put things right.”
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measures → have → things
Asked last month whether he was tempted to call an early poll, he told the BBC: “Not particularly.
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he → ask → BBC
No, I’m not.
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I → ’m → ?
“I see all the speculation and it just races ahead.
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it → see → speculation
The media love to do that.
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media → love → that
Holding up a copy of the new document on stage in Birmingham, Mrs Badenoch said her party would need “to be ready from day one, having already shown people what kind of government we are going to be”.
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we → hold → government
She reflected on the decision to publish a policy statement in 1976, ahead of Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 victory, called The Right Approach.
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She → reflect → victory
“We governed for 18 years after that because we started with the right foundations – and we are going to do the same again,” Mrs Badenoch said.
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Badenoch → govern → same
She earlier said: “When we win the next election, and we will, we are going to need to hit the ground running.”
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we → say → ground
On Monday, shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith is set to unveil the party’s economic policies.
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Griffith → set → policies
“This will be the most ambitious deregulation project in a generation,” he is expected to say.
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he → expect → generation
“We will set out our plans line by line – every bill, every regulation, every chapter.”
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We → set → line
To cut the price of a new build property, the Conservatives have planned to ditch the Future Homes Standard and housebuilding rules coming into force next year, which will mean developers must include in their designs low-carbon heating technology such as heat pumps or district heat networks.
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developers → cut → pumps
Party researchers have pointed to a document published by Birmingham City Council in 2023, which found improved efficiency, heat pumps and comprehensive installation of solar panels could increase the cost of building a detached home by £30,789.
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efficiency → point → 30,789
The same document estimated the technologies could cut £2,715 from energy bills each year, effectively paying for themselves within roughly 11 years.
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technologies → estimate → years
Abolishing the stamp duty tax on property purchases, which is already a Conservative Party policy, is thought to be part of the plan to push house prices down further.
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which → abolish → prices
The Conservatives would also replace mechanisms known as section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy, which fund infrastructure when developers progress their building plans, with a single charge, in a bid to speed up the approvals process.
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developers → replace → process
Abolishing Natural England and the Environment Agency, taking their functions into the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), would also feature in a future Conservative Party manifesto.
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Abolishing → abolish → manifesto
This would represent a “common sense for our countryside and the cost” at a time “of rocketing food prices, record numbers of farms closing and nature in decline”, shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said.
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Atkins → represent → decline
Elsewhere in Mr Griffith’s plan is a proposal to scrap the extended producer responsibility, which was set up in an effort to make producers pay for the costs of managing packaging when it is thrown away.
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it → scrap → packaging
Removing it could lift a £1.5 billion burden from businesses, the Conservatives have said.
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Conservatives → remove → businesses
Mr Griffith will say the UK’s “tax code is a cat’s cradle of complexity”, adding: “Because many of us have worked in business, we understand that time spent filling in a tax return or hanging on an HMRC helpline steals time away from your business, your family – the very reason you work so hard.
“
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you → say → business
So, as well as cutting taxes, tax simplification will be a mission for every treasury minister.”
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simplification → cut → minister
He will also back plans to build a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.
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He → back → Airport
“We’re ‘all in’ for growth and we will legislate to sweep away the blockers to getting the infrastructure our country needs built,” Mr Griffith will say.
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Griffith → ’re → blockers
Andrew Bowie, the shadow energy secretary, is expected to challenge a policy by the SNP to block the approval of nuclear power stations in Scotland.
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Bowie → expect → Scotland
“The SNP’s Luddite approach is costing jobs in Scotland, harming our energy security and ending Scotland’s rich and powerful association with the nuclear industry,” he said.
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he → cost → industry
“If John Swinney and SNP ministers want to have a fight over any plans that would deliver thousands of jobs and protect energy security, then I say bring it on.”
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I → want → it
Bridget Phillipson, the Labour Party’s chairwoman, has warned the Conservatives wanted to take the country “back to a politics that let so many people down over the past 40 years”.
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that → warn → years
She also said: “The Tories had 14 years in government to grow our economy and help people get on the housing ladder, but they completely failed at every turn.”
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they → say → turn
Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokeswoman, said: “No-one can take anything the Conservatives say on the economy seriously given their litany of fantasy-land financial pledges.”
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Conservatives → say → pledges
But he warned the Conservatives cannot match one of his party’s pledges to raise the personal allowance – the amount a person is allowed to earn before they start paying income tax – from £12,570 per year to £15,000.
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they → warn → 15,000
He claimed this was because the Conservatives “refuse to cut migrant welfare, net zero subsidies and the ballooning benefits bill”.
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Conservatives → claim → welfare
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