Overview

• In a London address, shadow chancellor Mel Stride formally apologised for the 2022 mini-budget and vowed the party will never again make unfunded fiscal promises
• Stride criticised Reform UK’s economic platform as “pure populism” relying on a magic-money-tree approach without credible funding
• Liz Truss hit back at Stride, accusing him of “kowtowing to the failed Treasury orthodoxy” and undermining her growth plan
• Under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership, Conservatives are taking time to craft a credible economic strategy aimed at broadening appeal beyond their older base
• Recent polls place the party third behind Labour and Reform UK, underscoring the urgency of rebuilding fiscal credibility to win back voters