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Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has called for a less risk-averse economic climate, lower regulation and a more open approach to taxation in a speech to business leaders at Chartered Accountants’ Hall.
Speaking to Alan Vallance, chief executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), on 9 September, Badenoch said her party would prioritise measures encouraging businesses to take risks if it were in government. She argued that excessive red tape was stifling growth and preventing new ventures from starting.
She said: “We’ve created a zero risk environment, and without risk, there is no reward. So we need to stop punishing people for taking risks, and we need to stop assuming that growth will just be there as long as government is setting rules.”
The event came ahead of the Conservative Party conference and followed Reform’s annual conference and a government cabinet reshuffle. Badenoch used the occasion to stress her vision for business engagement and long-term policy stability. She said a future Conservative government would involve businesses directly in shaping policy, citing previous consultations where she was “horrified” at the unintended effects of certain measures.
On tax and spending, Badenoch said public debate needed to be “more honest”, warning that demographic pressures and global competition meant difficult trade-offs were unavoidable. “There are no perfect solutions, there are only trade-offs,” she said.
Vallance, opening the event, underlined the importance of political leaders engaging with business to support growth. He pointed to ICAEW’s Business Confidence Monitor, which shows confidence at a three-year low as firms contend with high costs and complex rules. “If the UK needs growth to turn around its economy, it will be led by business, and businesses must be given what they need to succeed,” he said.
Discussion also turned to productivity and the impact of technology. Vallance noted concerns over the effect of artificial intelligence on professional roles. Badenoch, drawing on her background as a software engineer, said AI was “unlikely to replace accountants”, adding that professional advice requires accountability. She compared the current debate to the dotcom bubble, saying technology’s short-term impact is often overstated while its long-term effects are underestimated.
The opposition leader also called for a national skills strategy that values apprenticeships alongside university degrees, citing her own experience as both a graduate and an apprentice.
Badenoch praised the accountancy profession’s role in maintaining fiscal discipline, saying: “The rules of economics are stubborn, and if you ignore them, they have a way of catching up with you. No one knows better than accountants that you cannot spend what you do not have.”
She also offered to work with the government on welfare reform.
Concluding the event, Vallance welcomed Badenoch’s remarks, saying ICAEW would continue to engage with senior policymakers “of all political stripes” as part of its long-term strategy.
