UK Conservatives eye deeper spending cuts if they retake power

The plan for a smaller state

Real talk: The UK Conservatives are gearing up for their party conference in Birmingham, and the vibes are getting pretty intense. Leaked comments from shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith suggest that if the Tories win the next election, they’re planning to slash government spending even deeper than the £47bn in cuts they already promised.

Back when he was shadow business secretary last year, Griffith told party members that he and his colleagues had discussed finding additional savings in "every part of government." The goal? A smaller state and, in his words, a "moral mission" to grow the economy and cut taxes. A spokesperson for the party confirmed the strategy, noting they want to target "Labour’s bloated welfare bill" and trim what they call wasteful spending.

The context

This isn't exactly coming out of nowhere. Party leader Kemi Badenoch has been vocal about her hero, Margaret Thatcher, and her belief that the current government is doing too much. She’s already laid out a roadmap to save £47bn, primarily by cutting welfare for non-British or EU citizens, slashing 132,000 civil service jobs, and gutting Labour’s clean energy schemes. Recently, she added another £4bn in proposed reductions, including a massive cut to the international aid budget, with plans to funnel those funds into building 50,000 new prison places.

It’s a direct challenge to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who is pushing for a larger state and more public control over utilities. While the Tories are currently polling in third place behind Labour and Reform UK, they’re doubling down on this "less is more" philosophy.

Why it matters

We’re looking at two totally different versions of Britain here. While the current government is leaning into state-led interventions, the Tories are positioning themselves as the party of total deregulation. Whether this pivot to austerity will play well with voters remains the big question, but one thing is clear: the plot thickens as the parties draw their battle lines for the next election.