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Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride (Image: Getty)
Top Tory Sir Mel Stride took aim at Labour and Reform UK as he delivered a major speech on the economy today.
The Shadow Chancellor warned that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is "fiddling the figures" and basing all her spending on borrowing, while claiming Nigel Farage's plan "doubles down on the 'magic money tree' we thought had been banished with Jeremy Corbyn".
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Calling for a "bold rewiring" of the economy, Sir Mel argued both Conservative and Labour governments in recent decades had failed to secure economic growth and improve living standards.
He also sought to distance the Conservatives from Lis Truss's mini-budget, saying the party needs to show "contrition" to restore its economic credibility.
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11 hours ago14:55 Katie Harris
I was in the room when Kemi's Badenoch's right-hand man took on the Liz Truss era
Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride took to a London stage today on a mission to rescue the Conservatives’ economic reputation so the Tories can escape polling oblivion.
Sir Mel knows there is no hope of Kemi Badenoch’s returning to power if the party is not trusted on the economy. The Conservatives are in a battle for survival.
The latest poll of polls puts the party on just 18%, behind Labour (23%) and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK (30%).
But this was not a speech in which he would focus his fire solely on his Labour opposite number, Rachel Reeves. He decided to address the country’s memories of the economic turmoil unleashed in the wake of former PM Liz Truss’s mini-Budget.
Read the full analysis here.
The Shadow Chancellor delivers his speech (Image: Getty)
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15 hours ago11:34 David Williamson
Rachel Reeves's headroom 'blown'
The Shadow Chancellor says it is almost certain Rachel Reeves has "blown" her fiscal headroom, raising the prospect of more taxes.
He attacks Nigel Farage's party for its tax plans, claiming Tories have got to “shine the light of truth” on Reform.
15 hours ago11:21 David Williamson
Young people have stopped listening to Conservatives, Mel Stride admits
The Shadow Chancellor says young people have "simply stopped listening to the Conservatives".
But he warns Labour and Reform present a "clear and present threat to our economy" to the economy.
As an example of why Britain isn't working, he cites the ￡120million HS2 bat tunnel - "Perhaps it would have been better to have brought the bats into Claridges."
15 hours ago11:11 David Williamson
Mel Stride swings at Reform
In his big speech the Shadow Chancellor says Reform's "economic prescription is pure populism". He claims populists offer "easy answers".
"Economic stability must come first above everything else," the Shadow Chancellor says.
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15 hours ago10:58 David Williamson
This is what Labour makes of Mel Stride's attempt to draw a line under the Truss era
A Labour spokesman said: “The Tories may want to distance themselves from Truss, but they’re still making the same unfunded commitments, most of them were in her team, and many including Badenoch praised her.”
15 hours ago10:56 David Williamson
The world according to Liz Truss
The former prime minister is in no doubt why she is routinely under attack. She recently said:
“I am the only prime minister who has sought to take on the broken system. That is why I am relentlessly attacked by Keir Starmer, who is their ultimate creature.”
And she is now one of the UK's foremost champions of the Trump presidency. She recently commented:
“President Trump is right to target failing institutions like Harvard... We need a Trump-style revolution in Europe.”
15 hours ago10:54 David Williamson
This is why Mel Stride is taking a risk
The Shadow Chancellor knows it is risky to raise memories of the economic turmoil which ended the Truss premiership but he has set out why he believes the party needs to show "contrition".
Read the full preview here.
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16 hours ago10:43 David Williamson
Liz Truss launches blistering attack on Mel Stride
The former Prime Minister is not impressed by the present party's attempt to distance itslef from her mini-Budget. In addition to her earlier Tweet, she says:
“Mel Stride was one of the Conservative MPs who kowtowed to the failed Treasury Orthodoxy and was set on undermining my Plan for Growth from the moment I beat his chosen candidate for the party leadership.
“Even when judged by the OBR’s flawed calculations, my plans were chalked up as costing less than the spending spree Rishi Sunak pursued as Chancellor during the pandemic - yet Mel Stride never took him to task over any of that.
“And why has he singularly failed to examine the role played by the Bank of England in causing the LDI crisis that sent gilt rates spiralling? Why has he never asked the pertinent questions of the Governor, despite the Bank since admitting that two thirds of the gilt spike was down to them?
“My plan to turbocharge the economy and get Britain growing again provided the only pathway for the Conservatives to avoid a catastrophic defeat at the election.
“As it was, Mel Stride and too many fellow travellers in the Conservative parliamentary party supported an economic policy that backed high immigration, raised taxes to a 70-year high and pursued unaffordable Net Zero policies - and the electorate delivered a devastating verdict on that record last summer.
“Until Mel Stride admits the economic failings of the last Conservative Government, the British public will not trust the party with the reins of power again.”
16 hours ago10:40 Michael Knowles
Minister defends highly controversial EU mobility scheme
A UK-EU youth mobility scheme will be "balanced", "capped" and "time-limited", a minister has said amid fears the number of visas issued could be "a matter of whatever Brussels tells him he has to accept".
Conservative shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood told the Commons: "The minister has been commendably clear that the youth mobility scheme must be capped and has made comparisons with agreements reached by the previous government with countries like Australia, Canada and Uruguay.
"And he will know that last year there were 9,750 youth mobility visas issued to Australian nationals, 3,060 to Canadians and just 140 to U
ruguayans, so will he be equally as clear in setting out what he thinks would be a reasonable level for that cap or is it just a matter of whatever Brussels tells him he has to accept?"
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds replied that the level will be "subject to negotiation" and added: "I do genuinely welcome the support of the Opposition for a youth mobility scheme. It came I think as a bit of a surprise to some of the Conservative backbenchers of course in that debate, but nonetheless I do welcome it.
"But what I've said is - and this is what the wording of the common understanding sets out - it has to be balanced, it has to be capped, it has to be time-limited, and that is the negotiation we will take forward."
16 hours ago10:39 Michael Knowles
E-gate rollout will begin this week
Faro Airport in Portugal will start the rollout of e-gate access to UK arrivals this week, the minister for EU relations has said.
Taking a question about steps "to improve relations with the EU", Nick Thomas-Symonds - a minister in the Cabinet Office - told the Commons: "The historic deal that we signed with the EU on May 19 is in our national interests - good for bills, borders and jobs.
"It slashes red tape and bureaucracy, boosts British exporters and makes life easier for holidaymakers."Indeed, I'm delighted to confirm this morning that Faro Airport in Portugal will start the rollout of e-gate access to UK arrivals this week."
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17 hours ago09:17 Jonathan Walker
Conservatives 'must admit we made mistakes'
The Conservatives have to “put our hands up” to the mistakes of the past, the shadow chancellor has suggested.
Before a speech on Thursday in which he will say the party are looking to “regain trust” following Liz Truss’s mini-budget, Sir Mel Stride told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We have clearly made mistakes in the past and we have to be honest and put our hands up to that.
“That is part of moving on from that, having learned the lessons, having listened and now coming forward with a very clear plan that we’ll be working up over the coming months and indeed years as to how we radically rewire our economy in a way that works far more effectively”.
17 hours ago09:04 Jonathan Walker
Tories to consider withdrawing from European Convention on Human Rights
Kemi Badenoch is expected to set up a review that will look into whether the UK should withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.
The commission will examine whether Britain should pull out of a series of agreements, it is understood.
It comes ahead of a speech Conservative leader Mrs Badenoch is expected to make on Friday.
18 hours ago08:43 Jonathan Walker
Nigel Farage says burqa ban 'is a debate'
To add to the confusion, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has suggested his party could back a ban on face coverings, but attempted to move the debate away from burqas and on to violent protestors.
It means Reform now has three different positions on the issue, after MP Sarah Pochin called specifically for a burqa ban and party chair Zia Yusuf said Reform "wouldn't do" this.
Mr Farage told GB News: "I was in Aberdeen Monday, there was a mob there to meet me, an organisation called Antifa, and half of them had complete face coverings on so they would be unidentifiable.
"I don't think face coverings in public places make sense, and I think we do deserve debate about that, which I see the burqa as being a part."
He went on to say: "Certainly, I think masked protesters who can turn up and demonstrate and, in some cases use violence, should not be able to get away with it."
It comes after new Reform MP Sarah Pochin urged the Prime Minister to "ban the burqa" on Wednesday.
Reform chair Zia Yusuf responded by saying it "wasn't policy" and said: "I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do."
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18 hours ago08:35 Michael Knowles
Trouble brewing for Reform UK?
Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf branded a question from one of his own MPs “dumb” as the row over a burqa ban intensified.
Asked if he was responsible for the policy, he said in a post on X: "Nothing to do with me.
"Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn’t policy. Busy with other stuff.
"I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do."
18 hours ago08:31 Michael Knowles
Education Secretary defends free school meal extension
Bridget Phillipson has said that ministers are "working as quickly as we can" on plans to extend free school meals, which will not come into force until September 2026.
Asked why the expansion was not coming into force now, the Education Secretary told BBC Breakfast: "We're working as quickly as we can because we do appreciate the urgency, but we also need to work with schools to make this change happen."
18 hours ago08:17 Michael Knowles
Top Tory hints the party could consider banning the burqa
Top Tory Mel Stride hinted the Conservatives could consider banning the burqa.
He told GB News: "We didn't have banning the burqa in our last manifesto.
"We do feel, however, that in certain circumstances the police, if they need to be able to identify somebody facially, should be able to have somebody remove that particular facial covering.
"But clearly this, and all sorts of issues, are things we will think about over the coming years as we embark on our policy renewal programme."
'We didn\u2019t have banning the burqa in our last manifesto.'
Mel Stride MP responds to Sarah Pochin MP's UK\u2019s call for a national burqa ban \u2014 saying facial ID should be possible but a full ban isn\u2019t on the table (yet). pic.twitter.com/Z8AaasbYD7
— GB News (@GBNEWS) June 5, 2025
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18 hours ago08:14 Michael Knowles
New French patrol vessels also set to be introduced
France will also introduce six new patrol boats that will intercept the “taxi-boats” and rescue migrants.
Paris has refused to allow their police officers to intercept migrants in the water because they fear it could put lies at risk.
A French interior ministry source said: “We are aware of the high stakes involved in interventions at sea and of the need to adapt our doctrine of action.
“Today, our intervention can only take place to rescue a boat already at sea, in particular because of the criminal liability issues associated with any interception carried out for any other reason.
“We would like to change this framework so that we can operate in shallow waters, up to 300 metres from the coast, and thus intercept ‘taxi boats’, while respecting the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, known as the Montego Bay Convention.
“The Interministerial Committee for Immigration Control (CiCI) has mandated the General Secretariat for the Sea (SGMer), which co-ordinates the State’s action at sea, to draw up a proposal by the summer to change this.”
18 hours ago08:13 Michael Knowles
A key breakthrough in the Channel migrant crisis?
France will come up with a plan within the next six weeks to intercept Channel migrant boats in the water, it emerged tonight.
After years of criticism over their inaction, French interior ministry sources suggested they will target boats within 300 metres of the beaches.
This, they hope, will prevent people smugglers from using so-called taxi boats to pick up migrants waiting in the water.
French President Emmanuel Macron is said to want the strategy to be ready for the Franco-British on July 8, when he will meet Sir Keir Starmer in London.
18 hours ago08:12 Jonathan Walker
Conservatives will 'take our time' to draw up realistic economic policies
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride will say today that the two “core priorities” for the Conservative party will be “stability and fiscal responsibility”, with control of spending and reform of welfare and public services.
He will add: “And a bold rewiring of the British economy – to unleash growth, productivity, and opportunity across the country.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said that the comeback she anticipates for the party will take time as it seeks to avoid “rushing” into policy commitments.
Mr Stride will insist modern politics requires more “thoughtfulness”, with the Conservatives planning to spend the next four years forging a “credible” plan to return to government.
“We will need to take our time if we are to forge a credible plan that delivers for the people of our country,” he will say.
“Over the next four years, our party will do just that.”
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18 hours ago08:10 Jonathan Walker
Tories accuse Nigel Farage of believing in 'magic money tree'
Attacking Nigel Farage’s Reform party after its gains in the local elections last month, shadow chancellor Mel Stride will say: “Take Reform. Their economic prescription is pure populism. It doubles down on the ‘magic money tree’ we thought had been banished with Jeremy Corbyn.”
This follows Reform leader Nigel Farage's promise to cut income tax, restore the winter fuel allowance to every pensioner and end the two-child benefits cap.
18 hours ago08:09 Jonathan Walker
Mel Stride slams Rachel Reeves ahead of spending review
Ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves's spending review next week, her Conservative opposite number Mel Stride will accuse her of “abandoning” financial responsibility.
Ms Reeves has two self-imposed “fiscal rules” – funding day-to-day spending through taxation and for debt, measured by the benchmark of “public sector net financial liabilities” (PSNFL), to be falling as a share of GDP.
She has insisted these constraints are “non-negotiable” amid wrangles with Cabinet colleagues over departmental budgets ahead of next week’s announcement.
Mr Stride will say: “At the spending review next week, we can expect her to trumpet all of the additional projects and programmes she is funding – without mentioning the fact it is all being paid for from borrowing.”
18 hours ago08:08 Jonathan Walker
Furious Liz Truss hits back
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss launched a furious response against her Tory colleagues and accused Mel Stride of having “kowtowed to the failed Treasury orthodoxy” and being “set on undermining my plan for growth”.
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18 hours ago08:07 Jonathan Walker
Tories admit Liz Truss damaged trust in their ability to run economy
Taking aim at both Labour and Reform UK, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride will accuse Chancellor Rachel Reeves of “fiddling the figures” by changing her definition of national debt, and warn that “populism is not the answer”.
Addressing the legacy of the 2022 mini-budget under Ms Truss’s premiership, which spooked the financial markets and led to a spike in mortgage rates, Mr Stride will say: “For a few weeks, we put at risk the very stability which Conservatives had always said must be carefully protected.
“The credibility of the UK’s economic framework was undermined by spending billions on subsidising energy bills and tax cuts, with no proper plan for how this would be paid for.”
18 hours ago08:06 Jonathan Walker
Conservative Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride to set out economy plans
The shadow chancellor will say a “bold rewiring” of the economy is needed as part of Tory efforts to “regain trust” following the fallout from Liz Truss’ mini-budget.
In a speech today, Mel Stride is expected to promise the Conservatives will “never again” make offers they cannot afford as the party seeks to forge a “credible” financial plan for the future.
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18 hours ago07:57 Steph Spyro
Morning!
The Express's politics team will be bringing you the latest from Westminster throughout today.
You can follow the latest on our live blog or by visiting the politics page here.
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