In Birmingham, Conservative shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith offered Britain a vision rooted in an old faith: that prosperity follows when the state steps back. Proposing what he called the most ambitious deregulation in a generation — cutting housing costs, scrapping environmental bodies, and backing Heathrow's expansion — Griffith framed the agenda as a remedy for years of economic drift. The speech arrives as the Conservatives, still reckoning with their historic 2024 defeat, search for a story about themselves that voters might once again believe.
Tories unveil deregulation plan to cut taxes, red tape and housing costs
Deregulation on a scale the party calls the most ambitious in a generation
Mark
So Griffith is saying deregulation will cut house prices by fifty thousand pounds. That's a specific claim. Where does that number come from?
Mimi
The Conservatives believe that's what they'd save by removing environmental regulations and the Future Homes Standard. It's their projection of what builders would no longer have to spend.
Luke
Right, but that's an estimate from the party itself, not an independent analysis. We should be clear about that. The actual savings could be higher or lower depending on how builders respond and what they choose to pass on to buyers.
Mark
And they want to abolish Natural England and the Environment Agency entirely?
Mimi
Yes, fold their functions into the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Conservatives argue these bodies slow down house-building and flood prevention work.
Luke
That's a significant institutional change. The source doesn't say what environmental protections might be lost or what the practical consequences could be. We know what the Conservatives want to do, but not what the trade-offs actually are.
Mark
What about the Heathrow runway? Didn't the Conservatives cancel that themselves in 2010?
Mimi
They did. Now Griffith is saying they'd back it. Labour's former Chancellor championed it, but the current Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, won't commit either way.
Luke
So there's no clear consensus in government on this, and the Conservatives are positioning themselves as the party that will actually do it. That's a political move, not a settled fact about what's best for the economy.
Mark
And Reform UK is saying the Tories are copying them?
Mimi
Reform's economy spokesman said exactly that. He also pointed out the Conservatives aren't matching Reform's pledge to raise the tax-free allowance to £15,000.
Luke
So we have three parties with different versions of deregulation and tax cuts. The reader should know this is a contested space, not a settled policy area.
Il Polso
- Griffith promised to slash up to £50,000 from the cost of building a new home by abolishing Natural England and the Environment Agency and scrapping the Future Homes Standard.
- The sweeping deregulation pitch — touching housing, packaging, aviation, and taxation — signals the Conservatives are moving toward a sharply smaller-state identity ahead of the next election.
- Rival parties moved quickly to undercut the plan: Reform UK accused the Conservatives of imitation, while the Liberal Democrats called the pledges economically fantastical.
- The government countered with its own framing of fiscal discipline, pointing to an October Budget designed to deliver relief without abandoning regulatory guardrails.
- The Conservatives, still rebuilding trust after fourteen years in power ended in rejection, are wagering that a bold deregulatory offer can reopen the door with a skeptical electorate.
In Birmingham, Conservative shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith offered Britain a vision rooted in an old faith: that prosperity follows when the state steps back. Proposing what he called the most ambitious deregulation in a generation — cutting housing costs, scrapping environmental bodies, and backing Heathrow's expansion — Griffith framed the agenda as a remedy for years of economic drift. The speech arrives as the Conservatives, still reckoning with their historic 2024 defeat, search for a story about themselves that voters might once again believe.
Andrew Griffith took the stage in Birmingham on the second day of the Conservative Party conference with an economic argument built on a single conviction: that Britain's problems stem from too much government, not too little. His proposals — which he described as the most ambitious deregulation project in a generation — spanned housing, business costs, and infrastructure, and were framed as a direct corrective to what the Conservatives see as years of mismanagement.
At the heart of the pitch was housing. Griffith argued that abolishing Natural England and the Environment Agency, scrapping the Future Homes Standard, and replacing the complex web of developer contribution agreements with a single levy could reduce the cost of a new home by as much as £50,000. The savings, he suggested, would reach buyers directly. Beyond housing, the agenda extended to packaging regulations — which he proposed scrapping to lower grocery bills — and to Heathrow's long-contested third runway, which Griffith pledged to support despite the Conservatives having cancelled the project themselves in 2010.
The speech was combative in tone. Griffith accused Prime Minister Andy Burnham of pursuing a "socialist fever dream of the 1970s" and promised voters "cheaper homes, lower taxes, and less red tape." The rhetoric reflected the party's broader effort to redefine itself after its 2024 defeat ended fourteen years in government.
The response was swift and largely hostile. Reform UK's Robert Jenrick accused the Conservatives of borrowing his party's ideas without matching their ambition. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper dismissed the plans as economically unrealistic. The government, meanwhile, pointed to its own forthcoming October Budget as evidence of a more grounded approach to fiscal management.
Whether the deregulatory vision will resonate with an electorate that recently turned away from Conservative governance is the central question hanging over the conference — and over the party's longer road back to relevance.
Andrew Griffith, the Conservative Party's shadow chancellor, stood before his colleagues in Birmingham on the second day of the party conference with a sweeping economic pitch: deregulation on a scale he called the most ambitious in a generation. His speech laid out a bundle of proposals designed to reshape how Britain builds homes, does business, and manages its environment—all framed as a corrective to what the Conservatives see as years of economic mismanagement.
The centerpiece was housing. Griffith argued that by stripping away environmental regulations, scrapping the Future Homes Standard, and abolishing two major oversight bodies—Natural England and the Environment Agency—the party could cut the cost of building a new home by as much as £50,000. That savings, he suggested, would flow directly to buyers. The Conservatives also proposed replacing the current system of developer contributions to community projects with a single, simpler levy. Under the existing arrangement, developers fund local infrastructure and services through Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy. The new approach, party strategists believe, would eliminate delays and improve how money reaches residents.
Beyond housing, the deregulation agenda touched multiple sectors. The Extended Packaging Responsibility scheme, which requires companies to pay for collecting and recycling their own packaging, would be scrapped—a move Griffith framed as lifting a burden from business that would ultimately lower grocery bills. On aviation, Griffith committed to backing Heathrow's third runway expansion, a project the Conservatives themselves had cancelled in 2010 but which Labour's former Chancellor Rachel Reeves had championed. Current Prime Minister Andy Burnham has remained noncommittal, calling it primarily a matter for London.
Griffith's language was pointed. He accused Burnham of pursuing a "socialist fever dream of the 1970s" and promised instead "cheaper homes, lower taxes, and less red tape." The speech came as the Conservative Party continues its effort to rebuild after a historic defeat in 2024, when voters rejected their fourteen years in government. The party has faced sustained criticism over its economic record, and Griffith's remarks suggested the Conservatives intend to argue that only they can restore the country's economic health.
The proposals drew immediate pushback. Reform UK's economy spokesman Robert Jenrick accused the Conservatives of copying his party's policies while failing to match Reform's pledge to raise the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000. The Liberal Democrats' deputy leader Daisy Cooper dismissed the Conservatives as an "anti-growth anti-business party" and questioned their economic credibility given what she called "fantasy-land financial pledges." The government, through Chancellor John Healey, has emphasized that its own commitments rest on "fiscal discipline," with a Budget scheduled for late October intended to provide relief to families and businesses.
The deregulation plan represents a clear ideological choice: the Conservatives are betting that removing rules and simplifying the tax and regulatory environment will unlock growth and lower costs for ordinary people. Whether voters, having rejected the party once already, will find that argument persuasive remains an open question as the party works to rebuild its standing ahead of the next general election.
Citazioni salienti
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.— Andrew Griffith, Conservative shadow chancellor
The Conservatives have cemented their position as a pointless anti-growth anti-business party by rejecting closer ties with Europe.— Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrat deputy leader
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