London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 07, 2026

Tory conference: We must stay the course, insists Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng

Tory conference: We must stay the course, insists Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng

Kwasi Kwarteng will use his Conservative conference speech to insist the government will "stay the course" on his tax-cutting growth plan.

The chancellor's approach has sparked market turmoil and disquiet among some Conservative MPs, but he will argue his plan is "the right one".

He will warn that, without action, the country is heading for "slow decline".

Mr Kwarteng is under pressure after a backlash against his mini-budget, unveiled on 23 September.

Polling expert Sir John Curtice says the mini-budget may have done permanent damage to the Conservative Party's reputation for economic competence and may well cost the party the next general election.

But Mr Kwarteng and Prime Minister Liz Truss have doubled down on their claim that their plan is the only way to rescue the UK from economic decline.

Ms Truss told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg she should have "laid the ground better" for the tax changes and government borrowing that will fund them.

But she stood by the decision to "act quickly" and promised to win over the "hearts and minds" of MPs in her own party who opposed the measures.

Former cabinet minister Michael Gove told Laura Kuenssberg that cutting the top rate of income tax "at a time when people are suffering" was wrong and that using borrowed money to fund tax cuts was "not Conservative".

Grant Shapps, another former minister who supported Rishi Sunak in the Tory leadership contest, told the BBC's political editor Chris Mason the 45% top rate cut would be rejected by MPs when they vote on it in the spring and she should do a U-turn now.

But in his first speech to a Conservative conference as chancellor, Mr Kwarteng will defend the changes.

"We must face up to the facts that for too long our economy has not grown enough," he will tell the audience in Birmingham.

"I refuse to accept that it is somehow Britain's destiny to fall into middle income status… or that the tax burden reaching a 70-year-high is somehow inevitable.

"It isn't, and shouldn't be."

He will argue he has a "new approach" focused on raising economic growth, which would create "higher wages, more jobs and crucially, revenue to fund our precious public services".

In a response to criticism that the government's tax and spend plans do not add up, he will say that his measures will be "backed by an iron-clad commitment to fiscal discipline".

"We will show that our plan is sound, credible and will increase growth."

He will also reiterate his aim for the UK to hit 2.5% annual growth, saying: "We did it before. We can do it again."

Last week figures from the Office for National Statistics found that the UK's economy grew by 0.2% between April and June.

Mr Kwarteng's £45bn package includes a cut the basic rate of income tax to 19% from April 2023 as well as scrapping the 45% higher rate of income tax for England, Wales and Northern Ireland taxpayers.

The government predicts its two-year scheme to freeze energy prices would cost £60bn in the first six months.

Concern about how the package would be paid for was heightened by the Treasury's failure to publish an assessment by the independent spending watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) - and by Mr Kwarteng's suggestion that more tax cuts could come.

In the days following the chancellor's announcement, the cost of government borrowing rose, forcing the Bank of England to make a £65bn intervention.

Mr Kwarteng is due to set out further details of his economic plan on 23 November, along with a forecast by the OBR.


Michael Gove: Cutting tax for the wealthiest "a display of the wrong values"


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
HMRC’s 2029 Tax Shift Could Overlap Old and New Self-Assessment Bills
Thetford Disorder Prompts Expanded Police Powers Amid Asylum-Housing Protests
Cambridge Faces Calls for Independent Review of Jason Arday Appointment
Scotland’s ‘Cock of the North’ Woodland Is Being Felled After Wind Damage
Reform UK and Greens Unite Against Vast Solar Plans for Kent Marshland
New Zealand Draws Wealthy Americans With Revamped Investor Visa
Senate Panel Votes to Hold Anthony Fauci in Contempt After Fifth Amendment Testimony
Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Resigns as University Opens Inquiry Into His Credentials
Manchester Power Failure Disrupts Trains Across North West Into Friday
UK Fashion and Tourism Sectors Prepare for Strong Summer and Autumn Activity
London Residents Seek Appeal Against Approval for Chinese Super-Embassy Development
UK Environment Officials Issue Biosecurity Alert Over Rising Bluetongue Cases in Livestock
UK Charity Regulator Opens Investigations Into Donations Linked to Israeli Settlements
Gatwick Expansion and Chinese Embassy Plans Highlight Growing UK Infrastructure Disputes
UK Agriculture Authorities Warn of Rising Bluetongue Virus Cases Among Sheep Farms
UK Watchdog Finds Electronic Monitoring Failures Leaving Some Offenders Without Timely Alerts
Metropolitan Police Investigate Covent Garden Knife Attack That Injured Four Men
UK Government Confirms Severe Terror Threat Level as Prevent Programme Expands
Diageo Plans Guinness Expansion While Cutting Jobs Through Global Restructuring Programme
Bank of England Keeps UK Borrowing Costs Stable While Markets Await Future Rate Cuts
Gatwick Airport Wins Approval for Second Runway Expansion After Legal Challenges Fail
Apple Challenges UK Government Over Demand for Access to Encrypted iCloud Data
London Approves First Autonomous Taxi Licences for Wayve and Uber Passenger Trials
UK Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Finds Advanced AI Models Showing Deceptive Behaviour in Security Tests
UK Small Boat Channel Crossings Fall Forty-Three Percent as Government Highlights France Cooperation
UK Government Plans Procurement Reforms to Boost British Jobs and Domestic Steel Supply Chains
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at Three Point Seven Percent as Inflation Stays Above Target
EY Raises UK 2026 Growth Forecast to Zero Point Nine Percent as Energy Risks Remain a Concern
UK Artificial Intelligence Regulation and Public Infrastructure Investment Remain Key Policy Focus Areas
Kemi Badenoch Faces Criticism Over Appointment of Former Neo-Nazi Linked Figure to Advisory Role
AG Barr Reports £10 Million Sales Loss After Supply Chain and Planning Failures
UK Government Fast-Tracks Specialist Care Pathways for Motor Neurone Disease Patients
UK Government Connects More Than 60,000 Rural Homes and Businesses to Gigabit Broadband
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Forecast After Strong Summer Sales
Metropolitan Police Arrest Woman After Four Men Stabbed in Central London’s Covent Garden Area
UK Procurement Reform and Infrastructure Spending Signal New Focus on Regional Economic Growth
UK Government Expands Global Talent Visa Access for International Researchers and Innovators
NHS Launches £343 Million Expansion of Community Mental Health Centres Across England
UK Treasury Explores Higher Borrowing Capacity for Infrastructure and Housing Investment
UK Cabinet Office Reforms Procurement Rules to Direct £90 Billion of Public Spending Toward Jobs and Skills
UK Government Considers Public Inquiry Into Jeffrey Epstein’s Activities and Possible Institutional Failures
Britain’s AI Safety Institute Finds Advanced Models Creating Fake Identities and Malicious Code During Tests
Lightning Strike Kills Yala FC Player During Match in Southern Thailand
Senate Scrutinises AI-Driven Personalised Pricing
Spain Seeks Mainland Transfers for 1,100 Children Stranded in Ceuta
UK Government Pushes New Procurement, Skills and Technology Policies Amid Economic Pressure
UK Charity Commission Investigates Donations Linked to Israeli Settlement Groups
UK Government Faces Pressure Over Possible Windfall Tax on Bank Profits
South East Water Provides Emergency Support After Kent Supply Disruptions
UK Defence Supports US Operation to Seize Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
×