And here is Griffith’s peroration.
The time is coming when Britain decides it’s had enough of mortgaging its future, where hard work triumphs, where people will no longer be used as cash machines for the benefit of others, while their own hopes and dreams slip from their grasp …
When the story of Britain’s next economic comeback is written, it will be a Conservative story. Every generation has its destiny. This is ours.
Griffith says Tories have duty to offer young people better future
Griffith says he wants young people to feel hope.
What those speeches and banners in Liverpool last week failed to understand. Labour thinks hope is something you can hand out, like a type of food stamp.
But hope is something people find for themselves when they believe their lives are getting better, that they have more choices, more freedom.
A society that cannot offer hope to its young people has little hope for its own future.
As parent of lockdown generation children myself, I feel this strongly.
I sometimes see the uncertainty in the eyes of that generation, their worries whether things will really be OK.
Too many are already voting with their feet.
Last year, an average of 350 young people left Britain to live elsewhere every single day, the equivalent of a jumbo jet, taking with it their hopes, dreams and ambitions.
Because, like all young people down the generations, they are looking for better jobs, a better life because they see other societies offering hope, while Britain under Labour offers more of the same.
Many Labour MPs spend their time talking about safe and legal routes for asylum seekers to come here.
Well, what about safe and legal routes for our own young people to get a job, buy a home, have a good life? Does that not count?
What kind of government is so passive in the face of its young people leaving?
And what kind of future would it be where grandparents must travel across continents just to spend time with their grandchildren?
Conference, it’s our duty to offer those young people a better future.
Griffith confirms his plans to cut red tape announced overnight. (See 8.08am.)
And he confirms the Tories will get rid of the “job-destroying” Employment Rights Act.
Griffith says the Tories would get rid of Labour’s proposed council tax surcharge for expensive homes.
Andy Burnham is recruiting an army of snoopers. That’s right. In Labour’s Britain, they don’t use satellites and drones to defend our country, but to spy on citizens to see if you’ve a particularly well-kept garden.
It’s an anti-growth tax that will distort the housing market and remove the incentive to make home improvements.
So, conference, today I can announce that we will scrap Labour’s family homes tax.
On the subject of the packing tax, Griffith cites this as an example of how the last Tory government took the wrong approach.
It’s a tax that most people have never heard of, but I include it to make a much bigger point.
It’s the sort of thing the old Conservative party went along with. They would have said, don’t make a fuss or it’s only a couple of billion.
Well, conference no more.
We are unafraid to tell the truth.
And when we see Labour inflicting economic self-harm, doing damage to businesses or adding extra costs on families, we will never hesitate to call them out.
Griffith confirms he is cutting what he calls Labour’s packaging tax.
(Labour points out that this tax was introduced by the Tories – see 9.22am.)
Griffith says cutting tax will be his main priority
Griffith says cutting taxes will be his “North Star” as chancellor
I didn’t come here to raise taxes. I came to lower them.
No country in history has ever taxed its way to prosperity. So we will cut taxes, but only when we can afford to do so. And always saying clearly how we will fund that within our golden economic rule.
Like Nigel Lawson, he will try to get rid of at least one tax in every budget, he says.
Griffith confirms he wants to cut the size of the civil service back to what it was in 2016.
We’ll make further reductions on overseas aid, net zero subsidies and government advertising, and we’ll crack down on the health care, tourism in the NHS and stop foreign abuse of the student loan system.
Griffith says he is comfortable making unpopular decisions
Griffith says is comfortable taking unpopular decisions.
We will have to be the ones to make the hard choices and tackle the debt, to help our country live within its means.
As a finance director for more than a decade, I long ago made peace with the idea you can strive to be respected, but you should not expect to be popular.
Griffith says other countries have done better because they have deregulated more.
Other countries chose the other path the path of free markets and enterprise. And unsurprisingly, they are winning.
Three decades ago, Britain was the ninth richest country in the world.
Today, we are barely in the top 30.
Britain is competing in a global race with leaner, fitter economies while carrying too much weight on our back.
Griffith says Tories imposed too much regulation when they were in power
Griffith says the Tories are fighting a battle of ideas.
Too many in society today believe that business is bad, wealth is unworthy, and that despite all the evidence to the contrary, life would only be better if we had greater public control, more regulations and higher taxes, and that anything might be improved by putting Angela Rayner in charge.
Today’s left does not even understand the basic truth that you can eat the goose, or you can have a supply of eggs, but you can’t do both.
Griffith says the right has failed to make the case for free markets. And he says, when the Tories were in government, they did too much to restrict economic freedom.
For those of us who believe in free markets, in enterprise, in lowering the burden of regulation, that is partly our failure, because for too long we failed to properly make our case.
Despite Ronald Reagan celebrating Britain as the birthplace of economic freedom, in government we allowed restrictions on everything from the type of car you could buy, how you could heat your home, to banning adverts for certain types of yoghurt.
Griffith starts by saying Britain has a debt problem, a tax problem and a growth problem. But above all it has a Labour problem, he says.
You cannot have a stronger country without a strong economy, and it will take us Conservatives to make our economy strong again.
I joined our party as a teenager under Mrs. Thatcher because I was convinced the right way was Conservative.
He says, like Kemi Badenoch, he is not a career politician. He had a 25-year career in business.
He says when he was young, he was able to buy a home “because back then London was actually building homes”.
Under the Thatcher government and afterwards, Britain was recovering, he says.
It was an era in which anything felt possible. A new terminal at Heathrow, urban regeneration, driverless trains on the Dockland Light Railway. The first mobile phone calls on networks built by business.
Ater difficult years, Britain was once again on the rise conference. That feeling is what we need again today.
Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith speaks at Tory conference
Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, is about to give his speech to the Tory conference.
Getting rid of low-carbon rules for new homes 'makes no sense', says trade body
Solar Energy UK, the trade body for the solar energy industry, has criticised the Conservatives’ proposal to get rid of the Future Homes Standard. (See 8.51am.)
In a statement, Chris Hewett, its chief executive, said:
Everyone can see that solar and batteries are the quickest and most effective way for families to take back control of their energy bills. I would urge the Conservatives to reconsider abandoning a policy that they were instrumental in developing. It is far cheaper to design and build a new home with solar panels than having families pay to retrofit afterwards.
Like having carpets, a fridge or indoor plumbing, generating your own power from your own roof is part of modern living. I am glad to say that more than half of new homes are already designed this way due to the regulatory standards that are in force already. Reversing course now makes no sense.
The Future Homes Standards, which fully comes into force in 2028, requires new homes to have low-carbon heating.
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Here is some more criticism of Andrew Griffith’s plans to slash regulations for builders. (See 8.08am.)
These are from Sir Jonathan Jones, a former head of the government’s legal department.
I’ve lost track of the number of “red tape challenges” I’ve lived through - commitments to “slash regulations”, “roll back the frontiers of the state”, blah blah. Sure have a go. Repealing obscure, already obsolete rules doesn’t count
It turns out that much “red tape” is not imposed by bureaucrats or lawyers but the result of conscious political choices which can only be reversed at a political and practical cost
These are from James Murray, editor-in-chief of BusinessGreen.
The pitch here seems to be, ‘we’ll build the houses and infrastructure we failed to build during the 14 years we were in government, but we’ll do it in the most damaging and lowest quality way possible’.
Also worth noting planning is just one part of what the Environment Agency and Natural England do. This would be an enormous change and even if you don’t care about the environmental impact of development there’d be huge disruption to work on flood resilience, waste crime, nature recovery, etc.
Is there anyone who seriously thinks there’s a quick and easy way to cut the price of a new home by £50k, which has just been being ignored by policymakers?
Scrapping the Future Homes Standard will deliver cost reductions for developers, but it’s hugely unlikely they’d be passed on to buyers and those buyers would be left with homes that cost thousands of pounds a year more to run.
Meanwhile, the alternative plan to tackle climate change Badenoch promised when she announced the Tories would scrap net zero targets is still yet to materialise. Instead we have yet another plan to lock in fossil fuel reliance for decades.
In Badenoch’s new The Right Way document climate change is mentioned once outside references to the CCC and Climate Change Act. It says it is real, but then proposes a plan that would lock in higher emissions for decades. It pledges to replace the Climate Change Act, but won’t say what with.
Climate resilience, climate adaptation, and nature are simply not mentioned.
And this is from Jill Rutter from the Institute for Government thinktank.
You might hate the Environment Agency and Natural England - but am not sure how good your evidence base is that there is a latent majority for poorer air quality, more pollution and (even more) destruction of nature #CPC2026 - and homes that are going to require big retrofits
Former Green co-leader Adrian Ramsay suggests party should change its conference voting rules
Adrian Ramsay, the Green party’s former co-leader, has suggested that the party should change the way it makes policy at its conference. He was speaking after the “Zionism is racism” motion was passed yesterday under a system criticised on the grounds that it favours a well-organised by unrepresentative minority of members.
In an interview with the New Statesman, Ramsay said he was “deeply upset” by what happened. He said he would continue to argue for a two-state solution in the Middle East. He said that was “a long-held Green principle and it really matters because that’s the only way we will be able to get a durable peace in the Middle East.”
The motion passed yesterday called for a single, Palestinian, democratic state between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean sea, with equal rights for all.
Referring to how the motion was passed, Ramsay said:
If you look at the votes that happened today, even the vote with the highest interest in conference today, there were fewer than 1% of party members voting on those motions.
The Greens make conference at policy on a one-member, one-vote system. Any member can attend and cast a vote, and members can also vote online. Other parties use a delegate system, where local branches are allowed to send a certain number of delegates to conference, depending on how many members they have.
In her write-up of the interview, Megan Kenyon said Ramsay was in favour of this.
Ramsay told her:
That wasn’t 1% that was representing members across the country, that was a self-selecting 1%.
We don’t know what the other 228,000 members think on the issues that were discussed today.
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Clarkson told the Tory conference that it had been a “terrible” year on his Oxfordshire farm due to the hot summer. He said:
We worked really hard all year and we ended up with, I think I’m right in saying, three ounces of hen food.
It was an absolute disaster on the farming side but, I mean, luckily we’ve got other projects going on now. But the farming is very, very difficult, very, very difficult at the moment.
He also mentioned rising costs for the pub he runs, near his farm in the Cotswolds. He went on:
I’m very fortunate that I do have other income streams and newspaper columns, but if you’re an ordinary farmer, it’s not just the weather.
Remember, it’s as Charlie was saying, the attacks come from everywhere – whether it’s Iran or Ukraine or taxes or energy costs – whatever it might be, it’s just relentless.
Clarkson says he is thinking of thinking of opening another pub. But it won’t be in the UK, he says, because of all the obstacles to opening a new business. He goes on:
Why would anybody set up a business in this country right now?
That goes down well with the audience.
Clarkson says he probably won’t do this.
Then he jokes about opening the pub at Piddington. “That’s abroad, isn’t it?” he says, referring to its anti-migrant ‘independence’ vote.
Jeremy Clarkson speaks at Tory conference to highlight difficulties facing farmers
At the Tory conference the afternoon session is now getting underway. They are in the symphony hall, the big venue in the complex. The session will feature Andrew Griffith’s speech, but Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, is the first shadow minister up.
Atkins praises farmers and she introduces two guests to back up her case – Jeremy Clarkson and his sidekick, Charlie Ireland.
Clarkson says the bad news for farmers is “relentless”.
And running a pub is difficult too, he says. He says he lives in Oxfordshire. But getting power and water to his pub is unbelievably difficult, he says.
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What impact will Green's party's 'Zionism is racism' vote have on Zack Polanski's byelection prospects?
Earlier I said that yesterday’s Green party vote for the “Zionism is racism” motion would not help Zack Polanski’s chances of winning the Holborn and St Pancras byelection. (See 12.26pm.) A reader has been in touch with a counter view. He says:
I think it’s worth noting that the displeasure of the commentariat/politicians doesn’t necessarily translate to voters - the last few elections have shown that with regard to Gaza/Palestine - and given that this electorate ‘has exceptionally high shares of twentysomethings, single person households, full time students, graduates, middle class professionals, social renters, private renters, residents born abroad’, it’s not unreasonable to assume that those people might be more disposed to vote Green than less.
It is hard to be sure, and I don’t live in the constituency, but I think there are three reasons I think why my assessment is more likely to be right than this one.
1) While there are many voters in the UK outraged by what has been happening to Palestinians in Gaza, and disappointed by what the UK government has been doing in response, the number of people in this group who feel exercised about defining Zionism as racism is far smaller. And while the Greens may have increased their appeal to committed anti-Zionists, they are likely to have alienated progressive pro-Palestinians averse to aligning with antisemitism. There are probably more people in the latter group than in the former – even in Holborn and St Pancras.
2) Zack Polanski did not want to be talking about Zionism in the final days of his campaign. Yesterday, as the Green party debate was taking place, he was tweeting about “rent controls, Thames water nationalisation and keeping oil and gas in the ground” (some of his best issues). Having to answer questions about the Zionism vote is a distraction.
3) The row has made Polanski look weak. He can’t take credit for the motion, because he did not vote for it and backed an an amendment to weaken it slightly. And he can’t take credit for opposing it either, because he hasn’t. People probably like having a party leader as their local MP. But this week Polanski has not looked like a leader.
Readers probably have other views. If you do, please let me know by emailing politics.live@theguardian.com.
Investors criticise Tories for proposing to get rid of regulations making new homes environmentally resilient
The UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), which represents fund managers committed to sustainable investment, has issued a statement criticising the Conservatives for proprosing to get rid of regulations that make new buildings environmentally resilient. (See 8.08am.)
In a statement, James Alexander, the UKSIF CEO, said:
The UK’s ageing, inefficient housing stock poses a risk to families’ well-being and the long-term financial stability of the property market.
That’s why investors have backed both strong standards for new homes and plans to upgrade existing properties, which can help to tackle this looming crisis.
Rolling out technologies like solar panels and efficient heating systems can cut energy bills while creating high-quality jobs in supply chains across the country.
Suddenly ripping up regulation designed to enhance property resilience could weaken the financing environment for housebuilding and the industries that support it.
No 10 insists RAF Fairford is safe after US withdraws its bombers
Downing Street has insisted RAF Fairford is safe after the US withdrew its bombers from the base over new security concerns, the Press Association reports. PA says:
The Pentagon confirmed yesterday that aircraft which were being stationed at the Gloucestershire base had been “redeployed to their home stations in the United States”.
The move follows the arrest of six individuals over the past week in connection with a suspected terror plot targeting the base.
US officials told the New York Times the redeployment of the bombers, which have been involved in carrying out strikes on Iran, had been ordered after more specific details about threats to the base emerged over the weekend.
Asked at at lobby briefing this morning whether RAF Fairford was safe, the PM’s spokesperson said: “Yes.”
He pointed to comments by defence secretary Wes Streeting saying there were “tried and tested approaches to defend our bases around the country and throughout the world”, but he declined to comment further on “foreign nations’ military operations”.
He added: “I would just point you to the president’s words last week, where he praised our police, defence and security services in relation to RAF Fairford.”
The five British nationals, all in their mid-20s, arrested near the base on September 27 have since been released on bail.
A sixth man, a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian national, arrested on October 1, has also been released on bail.
'There can be no economic growth on dead planet' - Greens accuse Tories of ignoring reality of climate crisis
The Green party has accused the Tories of ignoring the reality of the climate crisis. In a response to the measures announced by Andrew Griffith (see 8.08am), the Green MP Ellie Chowns said:
It is completely outrageous that, as evidence of climate breakdown and environmental collapse becomes ever-more impossible to ignore, the Conservatives would prefer to tear up environmental standards, weaken climate protection, and abolish organisations charged with protecting nature, rather than tackle the genuine issues affecting building in Britain.
There can be no economic growth on a dead planet. There is no success story in homes that overheat in summer, flood in winter, or leave families paying sky-high energy bills because we failed to build them properly in the first place.
Reform UK says Tories 'treating people like fools' by planning to scrap red tape they introduced
Here is Reform UK’s considered response to the Tory proposals announced by Andrew Griffith to boost building by getting rid of red tape. (See 8.08am.) It is from Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader and business spokesperson.
Kemi Badenoch has forgotten that it was the Tories who introduced the policies which stifled growth and housebuilding in the first place.
They introduced the energy profits levy which gutted the North Sea, committed to the ‘Grocery Tax’ and laid the groundwork for its introduction, and imposed crushing net zero costs through heat pumps, nutrient neutrality and biodiversity net gain requirements.
And to show how far back the rot goes, they created the Environment Agency in the first place.
Now they’re copying policies Reform announced months ago and expect the public to hand the matches back to the arsonist. They’re treating the British people like fools.
This is not a party that has changed. The Tories spent 14 years creating problems and ignoring their devastating impacts.
Britain isn’t buying it.
Head of Jewish Greens says she may leave party over ‘Zionism is racism’ vote
Vivien Lichtenstein, the head of the Jewish Greens, has said she may leave the party after it voted to adopt a policy that equates Zionism with racism and calls for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state, Peter Walker reports.
On Thursday voters in Holborn and St Pancras in London will vote in a byelection to replace Keir Starmer. It has been a safe Labour seat for years, and Sagal Abdi-Wali, who came to the UK as a child refugee from Somalia and who is now leader of Camden council is the party’s candidate to replace the ex-PM. But she is facing a tough challenge from Zack Polanski, the Green party leader.
It is hard to find a better guide to a byelection than Rob Ford, the politics professor and elections specialist, and he has written a long piece about the contest on his Substack blog. It is well worth reading, and here is his conclusion.
Burnham’s extended honeymoon with the electorate, and the Greens’ decline in the polls mean Labour go into this contest as heavy favourites. After all, if the Greens could not take Camden when Labour were hitting rock bottom with Starmer, what chance do they have now? But by-elections have a track record of delivering surprises, particularly when high profile figures are on the ballot. If Zack Polanski and his army of Green activists can convince local voters that the contest represents a low risk opportunity to send a warning shot across the bows of the new Labour leadership, they may yet be able to mobilise lingering distrust of Labour among voters still angry at being marginalised during the Starmer years.
It is rumoured that Dominic Cummings wanted to use the slogan “Tell Them Again” in the event of a second EU referendum. A similar message could yet reignite the smouldering resentment of young progressives still sore at the perceived betrayals of the Starmer years, and help Zack Polanski win against the odds next week. Burnham’s rise changed the political weather this summer. But the weather could yet change again next week.
Although Ford published his article today, it does not refer to yesterday’s Green party vote saying “Zionism is racism”, which will probably be bad for Polanski’s chances. Ford’s analysis is in part based on the fact that the constituency has unusual demographics. “The seat has exceptionally high shares of twentysomethings, single person households, full time students, graduates, middle class professionals, social renters, private renters, residents born abroad,” he says.
And this is from Philip Stephens, the former chief political commentator at the Financial Times, on the Tory plans announced today.
Of course we Tories are not climate change deniers …it’s just that we want to abandon the net zero target, scrap environmental controls, and expand Heathrow ….
This is from Vicky Spratt, the journalist and housing specialist, on the Tory proposals to cut building regulations. (See 8.08am.)
Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith has told the Tory conference that he would “scrap unnecessary net-zero housing red tape” and cut the cost of “delivering and therefore buying a new home by up to £50,000.”
How would the Tories guarantee that developers pass on these supposed savings to homebuyers?
And what about those new-build buyers who want solar panels and heat pumps and lower energy bills? Could cutting the requirement for building them in mean any savings just translated into higher bills for the homeowner?
Andy Burnham has been urged to back compulsory voting as a means of helping to overcome opposition to his proposal to make the pensions triple lock less generous.
The argument is made in a report published by the Fairness Foundation that has been written by Charles White, who runs the Campaign for Compulsory Voting.
In her foreword to the report, Polly Neate, a crossbench peer and former CEO of Shelter, said:
The pensions triple lock is protected by voter power. That’s how politics works, but it isn’t how democracy should work, and it certainly doesn’t give fairness a chance.
Now the prime minister has touched the third rail of British politics by daring to fix this unfairness, he needs voters on side. Compulsory voting would give Burnham the political cover and popular support to deliver. The people most likely to back reform, including younger voters, would be at the ballot box to reward a government that took on intergenerational inequality. Compulsory voting brings everyone into the decision, those directly affected and those who aren’t, encouraging a more considered response to major policy choices.
Burnham has said that he will set up a commission on electoral reform. He has not explicitly said that he wants it to look at compulsory voting, but there is increasing interest in the idea in progressive circles.
Scottish government on course to miss its child poverty targets 'by miles', thinktank says
John Swinney has been warned of the “increasing disconnect” between his words and his actions on child poverty, as the government looks set to miss legally-binding targets on the issue “by miles”, the Press Association reports. PA says:
In a highly critical report, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said a “shocking” 21% of children are growing up in poverty despite the first minister’s defining promise to eradicate it.
The Poverty in Scotland 2026 report warned that without “radical change”, Scotland will miss its legally binding target to cut relative child poverty to below 10% by 2030/31 by a “wide margin”.
The Scottish government previously missed its legal targets for 2023-2024, although the child poverty rate did fall.
The JRF said ministers need a much bolder plan to tackle poverty.
It said the government’s plan to review its targets “risks delaying action and lowering ambitions” as it called for new, stretching ones to be created.
The report said: “We have consistently heard the first minister describe eradicating poverty as his defining mission.
This commitment is welcome, but there is an increasing disconnect between the Scottish government’s rhetoric and the reality of life for families in poverty across Scotland.”
It called for ministers to bring forward a “new, much bolder and properly funded plan to reduce poverty in Scotland”, and reform local government funding to ensure that “services are best where they are needed the most”.
Chris Birt, associate director for Scotland at the JRF, said: “We are on course to miss the legally binding targets by miles, but parliament can choose to up the ante and provide challenging new targets that re-energise government efforts.”
Britons won't feel safer with US bombers no longer based at RAF Fairford, Griffith says
Politicians have not said much so far about the decision taken by the US Air Force to remove its bombers from RAF Fairford.
But Downing Street is holding a lobby briefing this morning, and we should get a line from No 10 there.
Asked about the move in an interview with Sky News this morning, Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, said it was worrying. He said:
I don’t think that move would make anyone in Britain feel safer in their beds tonight.
Tories will abolish Climate Change Committee, shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie says
Andrew Bowie, the shadow energy secretary, has said that the Tory plan to dismantled the net zero legislation will include gettting rid of the Climate Change Committee.
In his speech to the conference this morning, he said:
What is the difference between a grid that prioritises cheap power for Britain over a grid nearly entirely reliant on renewables?
Well we’ve done the work: it’s £320bn.
Conference, cheap power is crucial. For industry, for the British people.
At conference last year we announced the measures we would take to cut bills right now.
Removing VAT from energy bills – saving £94
Axing the Carbon Tax on electricity generation. A cut of £75.
Ditching Ed Miliband’s renewable subsidies - £22.
A total package to slash bills by £200 per year.
And we’ll go further.
We’ll scrap GB Energy.
We’ll scrap the auction rounds for offshore wind that tie us to higher and higher prices.
We’ll abolish the climate change committee that instructs the British public how often they should go on holiday, farmers what they should plant, commuters what they should drive and the government what they should tax.
And we’ll repeal Ed Miliband’s Climate Change Act and net zero 2050.
Yesterday, as a gimmick, the Tories were handing out “Bottler Burnham” bottles of water (“0% strength”) to make a point about Burnham supposedly cancelling plans for an early election under pressure from the Tories. It is a version of a stunt they pulled in 2008 when they gave journalists bottles of a “Bottler Brown” beer. (Gordon Brown did pull plans for an early election at the last minute; this time the jibe is unfair, because there were no Burnham plans for an early election.)
The new bottles feature the image of Burnham produced by the Manchester artist Stan Chow.
In a post on Instagram, Chow says this is an infringement of copyright. He says he is taking legal advice.
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Tories would legislate to force Scottish government to allow new nuclear power station, shadow energy secretary says
The Conservatives would legislate to force the Scottish government to allow a new power station to be built in Scotland, Andrew Bowie, the shadow energy secretary, is saying.
Bowie is speaking at the conference this morning and, in comments released in advance, he says:
The SNP’s effective ban on new nuclear energy in Scotland flies in the face of common-sense.
No part of Great Britain should be missing out on plans for new nuclear renewal.
That is why I am delighted to announce that the Conservatives will look to see how we can legislate to deliver new nuclear energy in 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.
The SNP government in power in Scotland is opposed to building nuclear power stations.
Tories remain 'broad church' despite Badenoch's candidate vetting, shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith says
New vetting rules for Conservative candidates – sometimes described as a purge of moderates – are not a “purity test” and the party is a “broad church”, shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said this morning.
As the Press Association reports, asked whether Kemi Badenoch’s idea of a model Tory MP would mean that former politicians like Ken Clarke may not qualify under the new rules, he told Times Radio:
Look, we are a broad church; it’s not a purity test.
But when people vote for our party, they often, as they did previously, they like the things that we stand for, but they were extremely frustrated with our inability to deliver those in government.
So we do have to learn from that … It does have to be different next time. A greater degree of preparedness, a team that’s working together, united to deliver things, and making sure we’ve got the right.
Yesterday Penny Mordaunt, the former cabinet minister, said that she had been appoved for the candidates list. But Grant Shapps, another former cabinet minister who would like to return to parliament, seems likely to be blocked.
While the Tories debate the economy, Andy Burnham is hosting an away-day for his cabinet at Chequers, Andrew McDonald reports in his London Playbook briefing for Politico. He says:
One person tells Playbook there’ll be a session on the upcoming 10-year plan, which is due by the end of the year. Another person says much of the away day is about planning how to tackle the next three months, which may excite some of those Tories in Birmingham still arguing that a December election (?!) is a possibility. Long-term and short-term, there are loads of policy questions still to flesh out within Burnham’s sweepy vision. Cabinet ministers in Liverpool last week were waxing lyrical about Burnham’s openness and interest in their briefs as compared to the previous regime, so there’s a chance some of them might get something useful out of all this face time with the PM.
Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the chief rabbi, issued this statement last night criticising the Green party over its vote to say “Zionism is racism”. He describes it as “poisonous antisemitism’.
Emerging from our festival of Simchat Torah tonight, I was appalled to hear that the Green Party had passed its ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion earlier today.
It was the Soviet Union which first promoted the dangerous lie that Zionism is racism.
The UN adopted it, but was then shamed into revoking it.
Those in the Green Party and beyond who resurrect this discredited and dangerous slander should not imagine that history will judge them kindly.
All decent people will see this for what it is: poisonous antisemitism, a threat to British Jews and to Britain.
I would encourage those who wish to understand what Zionism truly is to read my essay from 2024.
Labour rejects Tory call for Environment Agency and Natural England to be abolished
The Labour party has issued a detailed response to the proposals announced by Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, today. (See 8.08am.) In part, Labour is saying the problems Griffith raises are being addressed. But mostly it is saying the Tories have no credibility on these issues because they ignored them or allowed them to get worse, when they were in power.
Here are some of the Labour arguments.
On the Environment Agency and Natural England
Labour says it is already making these quangos more effective. It says the Environment Agency “now has both the officers on the frontline and the powers to go after illegal waste criminals” and the rules have been changed to reduce the role of Natural England in planning.
On getting rid of the EPR (extended producer responsibility)
Labour says EPR was a scheme “first announced by Theresa May and kept in place by successive Conservative governments, including ones served by members of the current shadow cabinet”.
Griffith is complaining in particular about the impact on the glass industry, because under pEPR (packaging extended producer responsibility) costs are higher for glass bottles than plastic bottles. Labour says ministers are “alive to pressures on the glass industry” and are working on a solution.
On building more nuclear power stations
Labour says the Tories did not build these when they were in power.
On simplifying the tax code
Labour says the length of the tax code “increased massively” when the Tories were in office.
On making houses cheaper
Labour says the average first-time buyer deposit in England rose from £28,770 when the Tories took office in 2010 to £55,372 when they left. It also says that, by 2024, 31% of first-time buyers needed a gift or loan from family or friends to pay a deposit. Labour announced a Your First Home scheme at conference to help first-time buyers, it says.
On building a third runway at Heathrow
Labour points out that Griffith opposed a second runway at Gatwick, near his constituency.
Why Tories claim their proposals could cut cost of building new homes by up to £50,000
This is what the Tories are saying in their overnight news release about their plans to cut regulation affecting building on why they believe their measures could cut the cost of a new house by £50,000.
This is the short version.
The Conservatives have already pledged to scrap stamp duty on the family home, giving people a leg up onto the housing ladder. Now we are announcing radical supply-side reforms that will ensure the homes we need actually get built.
We will scrap unnecessary net-zero housing red tape that is stopping developers from building and driving up the cost of housing. We will ditch the Future Homes Standard and Part L of the Housing Regulations. All in all, we will cut the cost of delivering and therefore buying a new home by up to £50,000.
And here is the longer version. (Bold type from the original.)
Ideological net zero rules alone have added more than £30,000 to the cost of building a new home. Local Government viability assessments show that Net Zero rules add tens of thousands of pounds to the cost of building a new home. For instance, Birmingham City Council assessed that improved efficiency, heat pumps and solar panels increase the cost of a new detached home by as much as £30,789. The London Borough of Lewisham estimated that these rules would increase build costs by 15 per cent. (Birmingham City Council, Net Zero Plan Supporting Evidence Report, 7 September 2023, link, Lewisham Council, Viability Study 2022, 17 May 2022, link.)
These costs can be even higher as local and regional authorities often gold-plate these rules, imposing extra cost on developers. For instance, Policy SI2 (C) in the London Plan 2021 requires a 35 per cent uplift on energy efficiency beyond the national Building Regulations for major developments. (Mayor of London, The London Plan, March 2021, link.)
Other mandated changes are adding thousands in costs:
Government proposals on water efficiency are estimated to cost an additional £3,100 per home. (Home Builders Federation, The Viability Crunch, 1 May 2026 link.)
Requirements for EV chargers on all new residential buildings are increasing costs by £870 per property. (Home Builders Federation, The Viability Crunch, 1 May 2026 link.)
Accessibility standards introduced in 2022 have gold-plated requirements for wider internal staircases and level thresholds for entry to properties in new builds, which are estimated to have added £1,800 to the cost of building a home. (Home Builders Federation, The Viability Crunch, 1 May 2026 link.)
Additional Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) rules are adding £5,700 to the cost of construction:
Local authorities are imposing additional local rules significantly exceeding the national 10 per cent target for BNG. For instance:
More than a dozen local authorities require BNG of 20 per cent or more (as of January 2025). (Urbanist Architecture, BNG requirements for planning, 27 January 2025, link.)
Tower Hamlets in 2025 proposed a 30 per cent BNG target. (London Borough of Tower Hamlets Council, New Local Plan, June 2025, link.)
Zack Polanski banned from Israel after Green party votes to equate Zionism with racism
Last night Israel’s foreign affairs ministry said that Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, has been banned from the country following his party conference voting for a motion saying “Zionism is racism”.
The motion was “a clear antisemitic text according to the IHRA definition, as it denies the Jewish people’s right to self-determination”, the ministry said. It went on:
Therefore, as a first step, foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar has decided this evening to declare Green party leader Zack Polanski barred from entering Israel.
Here is Peter Walker’s full story on the Green party vote.
Tories accused of copying Reform UK after shadow chancellor says axing red tape could cut cost of new homes by £50k
Good morning. Yesterday Kemi Badenoch published a tract setting out the principles that a Conservative government would follow in office. It was presented as Thatcherism revived for the 21st century, and a key theme was that government should leave wealth creation up to business, and not get in the way with red tape.
Today Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, is presenting a plan that illustrates what this would mean in practice. Normally, at party conference, ministers and shadow ministers put out a press release in advance of their speeches highlighting just one headline policy idea, with perhaps one or two associated policies.
Overnight Griffith has published what is practically a manifesto. The press release alone runs to almost 5,000 words. Jessica Elgot had the task of reading them all for us yesterday and here is her write-up.
She has led her story on the plan to get rid of two environment quangos, the Environment Agency and Natural England.
But there are plenty of other proposals in the package too, including:
-Getting rid of net zero regulations and other planning laws, including section 106 agreements and the community infrastructure levy, that put up the cost of housebuilding.
-Getting rid of the EPR (extended producer responsibility), a law intended to make producers liable for waste disposal costs. The Tories call it the “grocery tax”.
-Backing a third runway at Heathrow.
-Leaving the Aarhus convention, an international treaty giving the public access to information relating to environmental decision-making. The Tories claim this enables the “lawfare hindering every major infrastructure project in this country”.
-Speeding up the delivery of more nuclear power stations.
-Simplifying the tax code.
The Tories claim the plans relating to housebuilding would “cut up to an estimated £50,000 off the price of a new home”.
There is more detail in what Griffith is proposing, and there is clearly a lot to discuss. Labour and Reform UK have both responded overnight – but taking different lines of attack.
Labour has said that Griffith has no credibility on these topics. In an overnight statement, Bridget Phillipson, the party chair, said:
Trusting the co-author of Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-Budget with Tory plans on the economy and housing is like asking an arsonist to run the fire service. Kemi Badenoch is once again demonstrating her appalling lack of judgement.
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.
But Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader and business spokesperson, says that Griffith is copying ideas that his party has already adopted. He says:
Tories pledge to scrap some costs regulations and taxes they put in place!
They are copying Reform policies we announced weeks and months ago!
They are trying to fix problems they created 😡
Never forget
Never forgive
One of the themes emerging at this conference is that, while there is far less talk of some sort of Tory/Reform UK pact than there was a year ago, the policy overlap continues. Yesterday the Conservatives announced two other proposals (excluding foreigners from the student loan scheme, and reducing aid spending to just £1bn a year) that were little more than cut-and-paste versions of Reform UK pledges.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.45am: Andrew Bowie, the shadow energy secretary, speaks at the conference on the main stage (the smaller of the two halls the Tories are using at this conference for speeches). The other main morning speakers are Richard Holden, the shadow transport secretary, at 10.30am; Damian Hinds, the shadow health secretary, at 11.15am; and Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, and Laura Trott, after 12.15pm.
12.14pm: Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, speaking in the fanzone area on the Conservative’s rural vision.
2pm: Griffith takes part in “meet the team” event in the symphony hall (the conference stage being used for larger events) with Richard Fuller, chief secretary to the Treasury, Katie Lam, the shadow housing secretary, and Julia Lopez, the acting shadow business secretary.
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