Shadow chancellor committed to ‘bonfire’ of red tape

Politics / 5 October 2026 Zionists attack Green Party after members vote to brand the ideology racist 5 October 2026 Childcare / 5 October 2026 Campaigners demand end to non-consensual adoptions 5 October 2026 ‘Science’ / 5 October 2026 Countdown to space-aged whisky 5 October 2026 Education / 5 October 2026 Poor pupil behaviour having a significant impact on teachers’ physical health 5 October 2026 Workers' Rights / 5 October 2026 NUJ welcomes Met Police confirmation that journalists’ data is no longer retained 5 October 2026 Monarchy / 5 October 2026 Mountbatten-Windsor taking legal action against Thames Valley Police over search warrants 5 October 2026 SHADOW chancellor Andrew Griffith committed to a “bonfire” of red tape today as he set out Tory plans to lower taxes and speed up development.

He unveiled the party’s economic plans at the Tories’ annual conference in Birmingham, including scrapping net zero rules for new housing.

Natural England and the Environment Agency would be abolished and their functions taken into the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) under the proposals.

Mr Griffiths said: “Our task just got bigger.

“We face a Prime Minister that wants to return Britain to an imagined past. A socialist fever dream of the 1970s.

“Cheaper homes, lower taxes and less red tape. This will be the most ambitious deregulation project in a generation.”

The shadow chancellor’s keynote speech at the Conservative conference comes as the party seeks to reverse its fortunes after suffering its worst ever electoral defeat in 2024.

Mr Griffith also promised to back a third runway at Heathrow, drawing a dividing line between the Tories and Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

He said: “Countries on the rise have the best infrastructure and connectivity to the world but our national hub airport is being held back.

“The next Conservative government will do whatever it takes to end the delays and boost capacity by backing the third runway.”

Labour chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said the Conservatives wanted to take the country “back to a politics that let so many people down over the past 40 years.”

She said: “The Tories had 14 years in government to grow our economy and help people get on the housing ladder, but they completely failed at every turn.”

Reform UK Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick accused the Tories of “copying our policies.”