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Shadow chancellor to unveil Tory plans to cut taxes and regulations - 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. 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. Another prospective policy is replacing agreements designed to compel developers to fund community projects and services in areas they want to build. Griffith will describe his approach as the "most ambitious deregulation project in a generation". Reform UK suggested the Tories were "copying our 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. 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. The Tories have faced repeated attacks from their opponents for their record in government, including on the economy, between 2010 and 2024. Griffith is expected to say: "No-one else is coming to save our 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". 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". During a series of speeches on Monday, Conservative shadow ministers will continue to make their case and provide more details of their proposals. This will include ditching environmental and energy efficiency regulations, including the future homes 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. 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. The Conservatives argue this new charge would remove delays and improve how the funds are spent to the benefit of 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. Their functions would be looked after by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). 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. The party believes this would help lift a "burden" from businesses and in turn could cut the cost of the weekly 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". Plans for expansion were scrapped by the Tory-led coalition government in 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. Burnham has described it as "principally... a matter for London and Londoners". 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. 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. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
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