The UK is in a ‘toxic relationship’ with the government says Badenoch
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has claimed the UK is in a “toxic relationship” with big government, which is stagnating economic growth and holding people and businesses back.
In an op-ed in The Times, Badenoch said the relationship is making people “miserable” while proving to some that “Britain is broken”.
She wrote: “This isn’t a broken country. It’s an extraordinary one, saddled with failing big government.
“I’m tired of this misery, the endless negativity, the doom and gloom.
I love this country. Britain is a place where dreams come true…but big government is choking that dream.”
She went on to say Labour’s relationship with people is similar to that of the prior Conservative government in failing to place enough “trust in the courage and character of the British public”.
U-turns and taxes
Her words follow a series of U-turns from the government including scrapping the winter fuel payments and ending plans of a mandatory digital ID, as well as a series of tax rises and other spending initatives.
Badenoch argued that more spending “always means more tax” which is “crushing the life out of our economy”.
She also accused the government of introducing a freeze or subsidy at periodic intervals to “keep people hooked” arguing these fail to solve underlying issues and instead erode economic confidence.
Labour has also come under fire from young people, in particular graduates and those not in employment, education or training (NEETS), who are both struggling in the job market for different reasons.
Graduates are losing out on positions as employers opt to use AI for entry level roles, while they are also being crippled by student debt.
Meanwhile, NEETs are unable to secure apprenticeships or other forms of work as national insurance and minimum wage hikes has left businesses unable to hire, in particular in hospitality and retail.
Badenoch hailed the problem “the toxic relationship in minature” with the government now scrambling to fix the issue after issuing the tax rise which has left many young people out of employment.
She wrote: “The public are left asking government to help them escape a problem it created in the first place.”
No to more government
The Conservative leader went on to state that “saying no to more government” intervention is not “cruelty”, but instead crucial to encourage more innovation, trade and organisation from the UK public.
Badenoch wrote: “Labour and Reform assume we are “broken”, foolish or selfish. That we cannot cope without constant direction from the state. I am more optimistic.
“Government needs to do what only government can do, and then get out of the way. Once people remember what it feels like to make decisions for themselves, to keep more of what they earn, to rely on their own judgment, they will wonder why they ever accepted so little.”
Badenoch added that the government need to step away is the reason why the Tory party is not unveiling fresh schemes, but instead wants to abolish stamp duty and resume drilling in the North Sea among other policies, arguing the moves will “get Britain working again”.
She wrote: “We’re working towards the return of responsibility and a government that backs its people instead of managing their decline.
“Once people get a taste for that, once they remember what it feels like to live in a country that trusts them, they will not want to go back.”