Kemi Badenoch Says Next Election Will Be 'A Battle For The Soul Of The Nation'

The next general election will be “a battle for the soul of the nation” between the Conservatives and Labour, Kemi Badenoch is set to declare.

The Tory leader will say she will cut taxes while Andy Burnham wants to put them up.

Delivering her keynote speech closing the Conservative conference in Birmingham, Badenoch is expected to announce plans to cut inheritance tax and halve national insurance for young people.

She will say: “There is a fight coming in British politics. A fight that we have not seen in this country for more than half a century. 

“It will be a battle for the soul of this nation. A battle of ideas. A battle that goes to the very core of who we are and what kind of country we want to be.”

Badenoch will say Labour “wants to wind back the clock to failed ideas of the past”.

“They believe economic growth is created by politicians,” she will tell Tory delegated. “They think government knows best. They think that your income, your pension and your savings are theirs to take and then hand out as they see fit. 

“They claim that what they are doing is compassionate but we know that these ideas will make every single person in this country poorer. 

“Your taxes will be higher. Your bills will go up. You will find it harder and harder to make ends meet.”

She will add: “On the other side of the battle is us. A renewed Conservative Party fighting again for the belief that what people earn belongs to them, not government.  

“That the collective wisdom of people in our country is greater than the central planning of bureaucrats and politicians. 

“That spending money we don’t have on things we can’t afford is not kind, it is reckless.”

But Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said Badenoch was “living in an alternate reality”.

She said: “The Conservative Party hasn’t learned a single lesson since they were kicked out of office. Instead of finally apologising for Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-Budget, Badenoch promoted its co-author as her shadow chancellor.

“Their credibility on the economy remains in tatters.”

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “Kemi Badenoch has spent half her conference making unfunded promises and half lecturing the country on fiscal responsibility.

“The British people are still paying the price for Conservative financial mismanagement, with skyrocketing mortgage rates, crumbling public services, and an economy being throttled by their shoddy Brexit deal.”

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