Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham to cut the benefits bill and rule out further tax rises, warning that Britain risks becoming "a welfare state with a country attached" if the benefits system is not controlled. Badenoch conveyed her message in a letter to Burnham as he prepared to take office.
In her correspondence, Badenoch expressed disappointment over indications that Burnham plans to increase Britain's already high tax burden. Burnham has suggested the need for people to pay "a little more" in taxes, though specifics remain unclear. Reports suggest he is considering increases to capital gains tax and potentially a new "death tax" to fund social care, alongside a "land value tax" that could impact middle-class families. Badenoch implored Burnham to "rule out any new tax rises now," cautioning that his vague plans could lead to a "damaging summer of speculation" affecting business investment, homeowners, and family finances.
Badenoch also called on Burnham to outline how he intends to fund a series of new policies he plans to introduce, including measures to reduce energy bills and a potential nationalization of Thames Water. "Given taxes are already too high, and we are already borrowing far too much, you must commit to making spending cuts and to addressing our debt burden," she wrote.
However, Badenoch welcomed signals from Burnham that he may loosen the approach to the Net Zero agenda, which she characterized as a "one-man deindustrialisation machine." She urged him to go further than merely approving licenses for the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields in the North Sea, advocating for the reversal of the ban on new oil and gas licenses, which she described as "unilateral energy disarmament."
Badenoch criticized Burnham's pre-election announcements as "airy-fairy" and labeled him a "people pleaser" susceptible to pressure from left-wing members of his party. She also defended the legacy of Margaret Thatcher, whose policies Burnham had criticized, stating that Thatcher's "genius" rebuilt Britain by fostering "enterprise, ownership and personal responsibility, using less regulation and lower taxes."