REVEALED: 'Kemistry' turns out to just be Trussonomics 2.0

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

Explosive new analysis by the Liberal Democrats reveals a staggering £33 billion-a-year black hole at the heart of the economic agenda Kemi Badenoch set out in her speech to Conservative Party conference today. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has warned that the Conservative Party is hurtling towards another devastating Truss mini-budget-style crash in the public finances.

In a desperate bid for headlines, the Conservatives have racked up £61.8 billion in tax cuts and spending pledges under Kemi Badenoch, yet, they have only put forward £28.8 billion in claimed savings to pay for them. The result is a reckless Trussonomics 2.0 fantasy that threatens a disastrous repeat of the party's catastrophic 2022 mini-budget, blowing a hole in the public finances worth £33 billion a year - a £1,140 hit per household.

These Liberal Democrat findings expose that the ghost of Liz Truss clearly still hangs heavy in the Conservative Party, with the fiscal irresponsibility she championed alive and well in Birmingham this week.

In her speech today, Badenoch prefaced her changes to Inheritance Tax by saying “Conservatives will not announce a tax cut without telling you how we are going to pay for it” - yet once again failed to do just that.

Crucially, while they champion these unfunded giveaways, Badenoch has offered absolutely zero relief for the squeezed middle, ignoring the crucial personal tax-free allowance and entirely abandoning middle earners they dragged into the 40p tax bracket, completely abandoning the ordinary families the Liberal Democrats are fighting for.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

"This £33 billion black hole proves that 'Kemistry' is just Trussonomics 2.0. Kemi Badenoch is lecturing the country on fiscal responsibility while making tens of billions in unfunded promises - a dangerous experiment destined to blow up the public finances.

“The British people are sick to death of paying the price for Conservative financial failure - with higher taxes, skyrocketing mortgage rates, crumbling public services, and an economy being throttled by their failure of a Brexit deal. It’s clear the Conservative Party has learned nothing.

“Liberal Democrats will stand up and fight a shameless Conservative Party steeped in fiscal irresponsibility, and we will act as the firewall stopping Badenoch from handing the keys of Number 10 to Nigel Farage.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

• Total Conservative spending and tax cut pledges under Badenoch’s leadership (£61.8 billion) minus total claimed revenue/savings (£28.8 billion) leaves an unfunded shortfall of £33 billion per year.
• Claimed savings reflect 50% of total proposed departmental reductions, in line with Kemi Badenoch's stated "golden rule" on fiscal policy, which states that “for every £1 saved in public spending, at least half will go towards reducing the deficit"

A full breakdown of the Annual cost of Conservative tax cut / spending pledges, £bn and the claimed funding sources (50% of savings, per Badenoch’s “golden rule”) can be viewed here.