Shadow chancellor to unveil plan for ‘biggest deregulation bid in a generation’

The shadow chancellor is set to unveil his plan for “the biggest deregulation project in a generation” in a bid to slash the price of a new build by around £50,000.

Andrew Griffith’s proposal could also cut the cost of the weekly shop, according to the Conservative Party, by removing a “polluter pays” fee on packaging producers.

Making a speech at his party’s annual conference in Birmingham, Mr Griffith is expected to warn Prime Minister Andy Burnham is pursuing a “socialist fever dream”.

Mr Burnham last week criticised “economic control” having been “diminished by selling off essentials” into private ownership.

He added: “Later this year, we will publish our plan for Britain and set out how, over 10 years, we will make this country work for you again – more control of the basics so that we can make it more functional, more power in the hands of the people and places to set their own ambitions.”

Mr Griffith is expected to say the Conservative Party must “inject reality, tell the hard truths and make this a country we are proud to hand on to the next generation”.

He will also say: “Our task just got bigger.

“We face a Prime Minister that wants to return Britain to an imagined past – a socialist fever dream of the 1970s.

“Cheaper homes, lower taxes and less red tape.

“This will be the most ambitious deregulation project in a generation.

“We will be more prepared than ever before.

“We will set out our plans line by line – every bill, every regulation, every chapter.”

To cut the price of a new build property, the Conservatives have planned to ditch the Future Homes Standard and housebuilding rules coming into force next year, which will mean developers must include in their designs low-carbon heating technology such as heat pumps or district heat networks.

Party researchers have pointed to a document published by Birmingham City Council in 2023, which found improved efficiency, heat pumps and comprehensive installation of solar panels could increase the cost of building a detached home by £30,789.

The same document estimated the technologies could cut £2,715 from energy bills each year, effectively paying for themselves within roughly 11 years.

Abolishing the stamp duty tax on property purchases, which is already a Conservative Party policy, is thought to be part of the plan to push house prices down further.

The Conservatives would also replace mechanisms known as section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy, which fund infrastructure when developers progress their building plans, with a single charge, in a bid to speed up the approvals process.

Shadow housing secretary Katie Lam has warned that “building anything in this country is too expensive and it takes too long”.

She said this makes it “unbelievably difficult for aspirational young people to get on the housing ladder, while reservoirs, roads, and bridges are held up for years, with disastrous consequences”.

Abolishing Natural England and the Environment Agency, taking their functions into the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), would also feature in a future Conservative Party manifesto.

This would represent a “common sense for our countryside and the cost” at a time “of rocketing food prices, record numbers of farms closing and nature in decline”, shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said.

Elsewhere in Mr Griffith’s plan is a proposal to scrap the extended producer responsibility, which was set up in an effort to make producers pay for the costs of managing packaging when it is thrown away.

Removing it could lift a £1.5 billion burden from businesses, the Conservatives have said.

Mr Griffith will say the UK’s “tax code is a cat’s cradle of complexity”, adding: “Because many of us have worked in business, we understand that time spent filling in a tax return or hanging on an HMRC helpline steals time away from your business, your family – the very reason you work so hard.

“So, as well as cutting taxes, tax simplification will be a mission for every treasury minister.”

He will also back plans to build a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.

“We’re ‘all in’ for growth and we will legislate to sweep away the blockers to getting the infrastructure our country needs built,” Mr Griffith will say.

Lawrence Newport, co-founder of the campaign group Looking for Growth, described Mr Griffith’s commitments as “significant and radical”.

He said: “More is needed but if these were delivered, they would drive down the cost of living, allow us to build again, and kickstart economic growth. What matters now is action.”

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, has said “it’s high time to review” fees on packaging producers, while Karen Betts, who leads the food and drink federation, warned the status quo was “adding billions to the cost of making food and drink”.

Ms Betts urged the Government to consider “streamlining” the system.

Chancellor John Healey, Mr Griffith’s opposite number in Government, is set to unveil his first Budget later this month, on October 28.

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