Badenoch revives Thatcherite economics despite its past failures
The Conservative Party, under new leader Kemi Badenoch, is returning to 1976 Thatcherite economic principles as outlined in her pamphlet "The Right Way". The party maintains that its recent failures stem from abandoning these market-driven principles and proposes lower taxes, reduced regulation, and welfare reform to stimulate growth. The editorial disputes this diagnosis, arguing that Conservative failures actually resulted from following such ideology too closely rather than abandoning it.
The article illustrates this argument through the example of Rough, a North Sea gas storage facility closed in 2017 by its private owner as uneconomic, leaving Britain vulnerable when Russia invaded Ukraine and fossil fuel prices surged. Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith has outlined plans for substantial spending cuts beyond the £47bn already announced to fund tax reductions, though the editorial questions how austerity could generate sufficient growth to offset reduced demand. The Conservatives' real electoral challenge, according to pollster John Curtice, comes from Reform UK, which is gaining voters dissatisfied with immigration, economic performance, and the NHS—voters unlikely to be won by a return to 1976-style economics.
- Conservatives embrace 1976 Thatcherite economic principles under Kemi Badenoch
- Closure of Rough gas facility shows market-first approach already damaged Britain's security
- Reform UK is gaining the dissatisfied voters Conservatives need to win back
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The Conservative Party, under new leader Kemi Badenoch, is reviving economic principles from the 1970s, outlined in her pamphlet "The Right Way". These principles emphasise lower taxes, less business regulation, and welfare reform as ways to stimulate growth.
The Conservatives argue that their recent electoral and economic problems stem from abandoning these market-focused principles. However, critics dispute this, saying Conservative difficulties actually resulted from following such ideology too closely rather than departing from it. A practical example illustrates this disagreement: a North Sea gas storage facility closed in 2017 because its private owner found it uneconomical, leaving Britain vulnerable when energy prices surged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Conservatives face deeper electoral challenges beyond economic philosophy. Reform UK, a rival party, is attracting voters frustrated by immigration, economic performance, and the NHS. Meanwhile, plans for substantial new spending cuts to fund tax reductions raise questions about whether reduced government spending can generate sufficient growth to offset lower demand.
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The case for
The Conservatives maintain that recent economic underperformance reflects government abandonment of market principles rather than their application. They contend that lower taxes, reduced regulation, and welfare reform would unlock growth by restoring enterprise and efficient resource allocation. A fuller commitment to Thatcherite principles—rather than the half-measures of recent years—would restore competitiveness and generate the prosperity necessary to address wider concerns about public services and the NHS.
The case against
Critics argue that Thatcherite policies have already been extensively pursued in recent decades and have contributed to rather than solved current problems. They cite examples such as Rough, where market logic led private operators to close strategically important infrastructure, and contend that austerity has suppressed rather than stimulated growth. The fundamental issue is that voters are rejecting market-focused economics not because it was insufficiently rigorous, but because its limitations have become evident; Reform UK's gains demonstrate that voters seek solutions to immigration and public services that market mechanisms alone cannot provide.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “The Guardian view on Tory economics: Britain’s future needs more than Thatcher’s past | Editorial”.