At his party conference in Birmingham, the new shadow chancellor, Andrew Griffith, made the case in his first major speech that the Conservatives can be trusted with running the economy again. The argument goes that his party is now home to common-sense realists, in contrast to the pure idealism of Andy Burnham’s Labour; that, after a period of self-reflection following their general election drubbing, the Tories are back, guns again blazing.
Certainly, Mr Griffith brings a track record as a successful businessman, someone who connects with boardrooms. For the organisation that sold itself for so long as “the party of business”, that link is crucial, not least because it still remains a major Labour weakness. This government isn’t trusted by the private sector of wealth creators, employers and the highest taxpayers.
But he is right to diagnose Britain as a society in which growth is being suffocated by a thick blanket of overregulation. Talk of cutting taxes and quangos in the guise of Natural England and the Environment Agency will have its enemies. But the glacial planning process and interminable delays for vital projects up and down the country are not good for anyone, unless you are a bat. Too many drivers of growth, from housing developments to high-speed railway lines and nuclear power stations, have stalled and ballooned in cost. It is time to put NEETs before newts.
Crucially, the Tories are not alone in aiming to reduce the UK’s mountain of regulation. Reform UK and Labour would love to do the same. Housing is in crisis, of that there is no doubt. Not only in Britain, but elsewhere: Spain’s premier has called an early election in the face of countrywide housing protests. Every major party has identified that locking an entire generation out of a future that is as fair and filled with opportunity as that of their parents is a recipe for terrible unrest. Now is the time for action.
This prospective chancellor would launch the “most ambitious deregulation project in a generation”. Mr Griffith’s choice of words is deliberate, since it was David Cameron who spearheaded the “Red Tape Challenge” as prime minister in 2011. So Mr Griffith is careful to ensure he is a generational distance apart. He conveniently forgets, too, that another more recent Tory Downing Street occupant, one Boris Johnson, also promised similar – although Johnson’s assault on regulation was predicated on the UK having departed the EU.
The shadow chancellor was prepared to throw out plenty of red meat for the party faithful, as he knows he must. He is committed to expanding Heathrow as a vital plan in his vision for infrastructure development, as if only he and his fellow Tories can make that happen. But, sensing an opportunity, Mr Griffith is seizing on perceived Burnham hesitation. It is an attempt to loosen the ties that have held back growth in this country for the best part of two decades, and any attempt to do that deserves support. If only adding a third runway was so simple, as previous prime ministers, including several Tory ones, have found.
It is harder to find common ground when Mr Griffith declares he is opposed to the abolition of the triple lock. That will appeal to many traditional Conservative voters, but will be a harder sell to the young voters that the party both craves and needs. The Independent’s view is that the triple lock should be ended – not immediately, but in good time – and that the main parties should agree that it will be reviewed in this parliament, and preferably replaced by a long-term guarantee that the state pension should be linked to a measure of national income. “Every generation has its destiny,” said Mr Griffith. That is all well and good. But how to help the next achieve theirs?
That is the challenge for Mr Griffith and the party’s leader Kemi Badenoch. Tax giveaways and a bonfire of red tape will appeal to some, but she must also focus on building up as well as tearing down. She has done an admirable job of getting the party behind her, but she is behind in the polls. To address the second part of that sentence, her party must show greater imagination if she is to make headway bringing Britain with her.
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