A fresher feeling at Conservative Party Conference

I left Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham feeling positive. Kemi Badenoch’s speech today was, in my opinion, the best Conservative leader’s conference speech since Boris Johnson. It was finally clear about what direction the party will take the country.

Having been a councillor, an MP and now working in public affairs, I have experienced conference from several different perspectives. I still love it. It is a chance to catch up with friends and former colleagues, have conversations that are harder to arrange during the working week and spend a few days surrounded by people who care deeply about politics. But I also know that the mood inside a conference hall can be very different from the mood outside it. An enthusiastic audience is one thing; giving voters a reason to listen again is a much bigger task.

It’s often hard to summarise the mad roller-coaster that politics is these days, so encapsulating it in a tapestry was a stroke of genius.

It had to be a successful conference. Labour have been through a torrid time before Andy came along and despite his words of hope it won’t get easier any time soon, so there was plenty for the Conservatives to have a go at. The challenge was to use that opportunity well. Criticising the Government will always get applause from a room full of Conservatives, but people outside the room need to hear what we would do differently and why it would make their lives better.

For me, the most encouraging part of the week was the greater focus on the economy. There was less emphasis on culture war issues and more attention given to the things people are concerned about in their everyday lives: whether working harder leaves them better off, whether they can afford childcare, whether their children will be able to buy a home and whether they will be able to pass on what they have spent a lifetime building.

That is familiar territory for Conservatives, and it is territory they need to speak about with conviction again.

A clear pitch to working families

There was a definite target audience for some of the announcements: middle and higher income families who work hard, pay significant amounts of tax and do not necessarily feel that their standard of living reflects their earnings.

The commitment to remove the earnings cap on free childcare eligibility was a good example. Losing childcare support because of a pay rise is exactly the sort of thing that makes people question whether progressing at work is worth it. It can shape decisions about working hours, promotion and returning to work after having children.

These are decisions people make around their own kitchen tables, often with a spreadsheet open and a fairly depressing calculation in front of them. A policy that makes those decisions easier has a much better chance of being heard than another abstract argument about growth.

The inheritance tax announcement was another clear statement of Conservative values. Kemi’s commitment that nobody would pay inheritance tax on their family home, alongside allowing couples to pass on an additional £1 million tax free, was one of the most significant moments in the speech with a standing ovation from the audience.

Owning a home is personal. I know how much putting down roots means to me. A home represents years of work, saving and decisions about what you can afford. It is also where family life happens. Wanting to pass it on to your children or grandchildren is an entirely understandable ambition, and Conservatives should be comfortable saying so.

Kemi also acknowledged that she was not announcing the complete abolition of inheritance tax and explained that other priorities had to be paid for. That mattered. After everything the party has been through, credibility on the public finances has to be earned. Explaining the choices behind an announcement is part of that.

Making the economic argument again

There were other recognisably Conservative commitments throughout the speech: abolishing Stamp Duty, scrapping business rates for most of the high street, reducing regulation and making it easier for businesses to invest and create jobs.

The practical barriers matter enormously. The cost of investing, uncertainty about policy and the time it takes to get decisions can all affect whether a project moves forward. There is a real audience for a party that understands those frustrations and can offer credible answers.

The emphasis on making homes cheaper to build and getting infrastructure delivered also stood out to me. Having chaired a discussion on brownfield housing and urban regeneration during conference, these questions were very much on my mind. There is plenty of agreement that we need homes, investment and growth. The difficult part is turning that agreement into delivery, in places where people can see and feel the benefits.

I was pleased, too, to hear measures aimed at younger people. Cutting interest on some student loans and halving employer National Insurance for under-25s gave the economic argument a broader reach. A party that talks about aspiration needs to show that it understands the position of people who are trying to get started, as well as those who have already built a career or bought a home.

Having represented West Bromwich East in Parliament, I know how much opportunity matters. People want decent jobs, a chance to progress and a future for their children close to home. The argument for enterprise and growth has to connect with those ambitions. It needs to mean something to the person looking for their first job, the parent trying to increase their hours and the small business owner deciding whether they can afford to employ someone else.

A good week, with more to do

Kemi’s speech brought those themes together well. It was the clarity of the economic argument that stayed with me: people should keep more of what they earn, hard work and saving should be rewarded, and government should live within its means.

I also welcomed the acknowledgement that the party still has work to do to win people back. Anyone who was involved in the 2024 election knows how deep the loss of trust was. That does not disappear because members have enjoyed a conference or because a speech has landed well.

My own experience in politics has made me fairly realistic about that. Voters will make their judgement over time, based on whether the party sounds credible, understands their concerns and follows through on what it says. They are entitled to expect consistency.

But conference can be an important step, and this felt like one. I always enjoy being in Birmingham, seeing friends and colleagues and taking part in the discussions. There is still a lot to prove. But Kemi gave the party a strong finish to the week and, in my view, a much better starting point for the conversations it now needs to have with voters.