𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The Conservative Party is back. That was the message, delivered loud and clear, from Kemi Badenoch at our local election campaign launch in London this week. It was a barnstorming speech. Surrounded by hundreds of the party faithful, she set out the case for Conservative values, Conservative action, and Conservative candidates. The contrast with Labour is striking. While we set out our plans for the future, they’re distracted by a leadership contest.

These people came into Government with no plan. Because of that, right now, Britain is not working. Labour’s tax hikes have sent unemployment to its highest level in five years. Inflation remains higher than when the Conservatives left office. Government borrowing is going up as Labour try to plug the holes in the public finances. And more and more people are choosing welfare at the taxpayer’s expense rather than working.

Last year Keir Starmer made a half-hearted attempt to trim a tiny bit of the benefits bill. But when his backbenchers threatened to revolt, he performed a screeching u-turn. Instead of sticking to his guns, he flung his arms up in surrender, and increased welfare spending by lifting the two-child benefit cap. That is not leadership.

The Conservatives are clear: Britain cannot afford to keep spending so much on welfare. We will reinstate the two-child cap, and make billions of pounds of cuts to the benefits bill. But we’re also focused on incentivising work, and backing the millions of people across our country who already work hard every day.

Among them are the small businesses owners on our high streets. Local pubs. Cafes. Restaurants. These are places that define our communities. The places that create local jobs. The places that Labour are betraying with their business rates raid.

At the Budget Rachel Reeves said she was bringing business rates down to a ‘historic low’. The truth was very different. Rates are soaring for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sector. This came after Labour raised National Insurance Contributions for businesses, making it £800 more expensive to employ each worker. No wonder jobs are evaporating.

Thanks to Conservative pressure, the Government made a partial u-turn, offering some relief for pubs. But the relief is worth less than a tenth of the total tax hike, and there is no help for restaurants, hotels, shops and other high-street businesses. Unless this Labour government changes course, many of these businesses will go bust.

The Conservatives know that bold action is needed. That’s why we’ll scrap business rates for thousands of businesses on our high streets, giving them the environment to grow.

A growing economy also needs secure, affordable energy. With the war in Iran threatening to send energy prices up, our Cheap Power Plan is more relevant than ever.

We will scrap the 2050 Net Zero target, ditch green levies on bills and drill in the North Sea, getting our own oil and gas out of the ground at a time when global supply networks are in peril. That will mean lower prices for families and for businesses.

We will also boost our economy and get people moving again by scrapping Stamp Duty on family homes, giving first-time buyers a leg up onto the housing ladder and helping those who want to put down roots and start a family. This will also help families downsize when they want to.

But strong local economies also rely on good policing. So we will act to tackle the epidemic of shop lifting and petty crime on our high streets. Only 1 in 20 crimes is being solved in Britain today. It’s simply not good enough.

The Conservatives are committed to Taking Back Our High Streets. And a key part of that plan is hiring 10,000 more police officers, ensuring more neighbourhood policing, and rolling out live facial recognition in town centres to help catch criminals. This will also help address the knife crime that plagues so many communities. We will ensure stop and search is used to get knives off our streets and catch offenders.

These are just a few of our pledges to you. Only the Conservatives have a plan to deliver a Stronger Economy and a Stronger Country.

If you have a local election in your area, make sure you go out and send a message to Keir Starmer by putting a cross next to your Conservative Party candidate. Together, we will Get Britain Working Again.