Griffith leak shows shadow cabinet discussed further UK Conservative cuts

Badenoch announces additional £4bn in reductions ahead of Birmingham conference

The shadow cabinet had discussed making further public spending cuts in “every part of government” beyond the Conservatives’ existing £47bn pledge, according to leaked comments from shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith published Saturday by the Guardian.

Speaking to Conservative members last year when he served as shadow business secretary, Griffith said: “There are decisions made and signed up to by everybody to deliver that £47bn. Last week at the shadow cabinet, we talked about [how] we will need to go further.” He added: “The rate at which the economy is deteriorating, as well as our ambition to cut more taxes, means that we will have to find further savings, and I’m up for that in my department. I know there are areas that we can make savings, and that’s true of every every part of government.”

Griffith also told party members: “There is a moral mission to get our economy growing, give people opportunity, as well as let people keep more of what they earn. It’s pretty simple. We’re Conservative, this is what we stand for.”

The comments, which emerged on the eve of the Conservative Party’s annual conference in Birmingham, came a day after party leader Kemi Badenoch announced a separate £4bn reduction package. A Conservative spokesperson confirmed the party’s direction. “Under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership, the Conservatives have consistently advocated for a smaller state and a government that does fewer things but better,” the spokesperson said. “In Birmingham, we will go further, setting out further savings to Labour’s bloated welfare bill and cracking down on wasteful spending as part of our plans to build a stronger economy and a stronger country.”

The £47bn package Badenoch announced previously consists mainly of cuts to welfare spending for all non-British and EU citizens, according to the Guardian. The package also includes £8bn in savings from cutting 132,000 civil service jobs, £1.6bn from scrapping almost all of Labour’s clean energy scheme, and more than £7bn from cutting international aid.

On Friday, Badenoch announced a further £4bn in spending reductions, including an additional £2.5bn from the aid budget, which would leave it with £1bn for the year, and £1bn from the budget of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. She said she would use half of those savings to fund an additional 50,000 prison places and has previously pledged to use half of any cuts she makes to reduce the deficit.

According to the Guardian, the comments suggested the Conservatives are planning to make cuts similar in scale to those made during the austerity years should they take power. A Conservative spokesperson acknowledged the party was seeking to make cuts beyond what it had already announced.

Badenoch, who has called Margaret Thatcher her hero, used a Friday appearance on ITV Meridian to draw a contrast with the Labour government. “[Thatcher] is somebody who brought a lot of wealth and prosperity to this country,” Badenoch said. “Privatisation was a success … I don’t think that Andy Burnham running the water companies is the answer to those problems.”

The Guardian reported that Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised a series of potentially expensive interventions, including a new national care service and public control over utility companies, as he seeks to end what he calls “40 years of neoliberalism.” The newspaper also reported that Badenoch, who has called Margaret Thatcher her hero, is attempting to gain an electoral advantage with her vision of lower taxes and a significantly smaller state.

The Conservatives remain in third place in opinion polls, behind Labour and Reform UK, though the Guardian reported that Badenoch’s personal ratings have improved over the past 12 months.

Griffith was promoted from shadow business secretary to shadow chancellor in August. He previously served as chief operating officer of Sky and, while in government, worked in the Treasury under Kwasi Kwarteng. He was one of the ministers tasked with defending the mini-budget even as the markets tanked in response.