London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

PM pledges help for struggling firms after Brexit

Boris Johnson also says it will be easier for public bodies to "buy British" if the UK leaves the EU.

Boris Johnson has pledged to make it easier to help struggling UK companies after Brexit, if the Tories win the general election.

The PM said being free of EU rules on state aid would make it quicker to intervene, and bring in "buy British" guidelines for public bodies.

He added that an Australian-style immigration system would be in place in place by 1 January, 2021.

But Labour criticised the Tories' past record of supporting industry.

Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said the prime minister's promise on state aid rules "sticks in his throat".

He said the Conservatives had "sat on their hands and used state aid as an excuse" when refusing to intervene to save a steel works in his Teesside constituency in 2015.

Business lobby group the Institute of Directors said the PM's proposals "suggest a retreat away from free and open markets" and would have "clear implications" for the UK's ability to negotiate a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.

Free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs said greater use of state aid to help firms in trouble would "translate to veiled support for cronyism".

Earlier on Friday, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said she was hoping for another hung parliament, with her party holding the balance of power.

Mr Johnson has guaranteed that if the Conservatives win a working majority, the UK will leave the EU by 31 January at the latest.


'Brexit roadmap'


Under the terms of the withdrawal agreement, free movement from the EU will continue for 11 months after Brexit during a transition period.

Mr Johnson said a new Australian-style immigration system would be in place when the current rules end on 31 December 2020.

Under this scheme, those applying to come to the UK would be awarded points based on professional and personal characteristics, similar to the existing system for non-EU nationals.

The PM wanted to set out not just the timescale for leaving the EU but what he saw as the benefits of Brexit for voters

While the Conservatives were once the party of free trade, Boris Johnson donned the cloak of protectionism by outlining a new post-brexit state aid regime.

And he said public bodies would be encouraged to adopt a "Buy British" policy to boost local economies. Critics say these measures would impede attempts to strike a trade deal with the EU.

Mr Johnson also declined to say that no-deal preparations would be stood down but expressed confidence a trade agreement would be struck by the end of next year.

With Gisela Stuart standing next to him, politically Boris Johnson wants to highlight differences with Jeremy Corbyn on Brexit,

"By lowering the number of unskilled immigrants, the system will remove a major force that puts a downward pressure on people's wages and reduce the overall level of immigration," Mr Johnson said.

As part of what he said was a "Brexit roadmap" designed to show voters the benefits of leaving the EU, he said a re-elected Conservative government would take "immediate steps" to introduce new rules to take effect after the transition period is due to finish at the end of 2020.

These would include a new state aid regime to help industries in trouble, scrapping VAT on sanitary products and promoting a "buy British" rule for public bodies to help farmers.

The Conservatives say current EU rules on state aid are bureaucratic and inflexible, citing the difficulties the UK had in getting emergency financial for Tata Steel's UK business in 2012.

The party said introducing a new UK state aid regime would allow decisions on whether and how to intervene to be taken within days, allowing a quicker response to economic downturns.


'Level-playing field'

The PM said his aim was not to bail out failing business but to ensure a "level playing field" for industry.

Despite saying he was confident that a free trade agreement would be in place by the end of 2020 when the transition period ends. Mr Johnson added that he saw "no reason to dismantle" preparations for leaving the EU without a deal.

He said the preparations - which included pledges of £2.1bn extra spending under Mr Johnson - were "thoroughly useful" in convincing the EU that the UK was "in earnest" about leaving.

"Many of those preparations will be extremely valuable as we come out of the EU arrangements anyway, so I think they are the right thing to have done and to keep in a state of readiness," he said.

Mr Johnson said only a Conservative victory would lift the country out of its "political morass" and "deliver the change that people voted for by getting Brexit done".

He also said:

He was not "running scared" from an interview with the BBC's Andrew Neil, which other party leaders have committed to
He wanted to "take the division out" of social care funding by finding a cross-party solution which would ensure no one has to sell their home to pay for care
His previous remarks that the monarchy was "beyond reproach", which followed Prince Andrew's BBC interview, referred to the Queen rather than the Royal Family as a whole
He said it was "inconceivable" the party would bring back fox hunting and it intended to improve animal welfare after Brexit, including banning "barbaric" shark's fin soup
Appearing alongside the PM, former Labour minister Gisela Stuart said she would be voting Conservative and urged other traditional Labour voters to do the same if they wanted to see Brexit delivered.

Ms Stuart, who stood down at the 2017 election, was the most senior Labour figure in the Vote Leave referendum campaign.

"In this election, I will not vote for Jeremy Corbyn but I can vote for Brexit," she said. "A vote for Boris Johnson this time around is a vote to get Brexit done, But let me be clear, voting for Brexit this time does not make me a Tory now or in the future."


What do other parties say about state aid and immigration?

The Labour manifesto does not directly mention state aid, but the party has pledged to bring mail, rail, water and energy back into state ownership, and part-nationalise BT.

Leader Jeremy Corbyn has previously suggested he thinks EU rules could restrict the government's ability to intervene to support industry.

Labour would keep free movement rules if the UK stays in the EU following its planned referendum, or otherwise "seek to protect" them if voters opt for its Brexit deal instead.

The Brexit Party has vowed to cap permanent immigration into the UK at 50,000 a year.

The Liberal Democrats want the UK to stay in the EU, meaning it would continue to follow existing rules on state aid and free movement.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×