Tories Bid to Reclaim Economic Credibility, But Mel Stride’s Speech Lacks Policy Punch

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said the Conservatives’ plan to deliver economic stability and growth would ’take time to put together.’

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride delivers a speech at the Royal Society of Arts in London on June 5, 2025. Leon Neal/Getty Images

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride has renewed the push to reclaim the Conservatives’ reputation for economic credibility, as he delivered a speech in which he sought to distance the party from former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s mini-budget.

But while Stride acknowledged past failings and criticised Labour and Reform UK policies, his remarks notably lacked detailed economic policy proposals.

He called for a radical “rewiring” of the economy and admitted his party has learned from its mistakes.

Speaking at the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce on Thursday, Stride promised the Conservatives will never replicate Truss by making promises it can’t afford.

He referenced the 2022 mini-budget crisis that triggered market turmoil after Truss announced £45 billion in unfunded tax cuts.

“We see what happens when fiscal responsibility goes out the window,” the shadow chancellor said, adding that the Conservatives’ plan for economic stability and growth would “take time to put together.”

He laid out a framework of what needs to be tackled—the size of the state, a complicated tax system, bloated welfare, and sluggish productivity—but stopped short of diving into specifics.

More detail could be expected from the party leader Kemi Badenoch, who is set to make a speech on Friday.

Tories Trailing Behind

Stride’s address comes at a time of dire polling for the Conservative Party.

Recent surveys place the Tories at just 17.9 percent, trailing Labour at 22.6 percent and Reform UK, which leads with 30.4 percent. A YouGov poll on Thursday found that only one in six Britons say Badenoch has done a good job as party leader.

The Conservatives believe that restoring public trust in their economic management is essential to improving their electoral prospects.

“We have to demonstrate to the British public first thing that we are on their side and will hold this government to account,” said Stride.

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride delivers a speech at the Royal Society of Arts in London on June 5, 2025. Leon Neal/Getty Images

He also sought to distance the party from Reform, accusing Nigel Farage of promoting unfunded policies that lack proper scrutiny.

“Reform says that they will take everybody earning up to £20,000 out of income tax altogether. The cost of that, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, is between £50 and £80 billion.

“You have got to have a pretty robust plan on savings or where you going to find that money,” Stride said.

Despite Conservative criticism, Reform continues to benefit from public disillusionment with the Tories after 14 years in power, as well as defections from Conservative ranks.

Its success in the May local elections was particularly striking in traditional Tory heartlands such as Lincolnshire, Dudley, and Thurrock.

Stride’s own credibility is under scrutiny owing to his time in government during Truss’s premiership, when the controversial mini-budget was announced.

In response to his remarks, Truss said on the social media platform X: “Stride is a creature of the system. When he served alongside me as Treasury Minister, he always went along with officials - including on the Loan Charge and IR35, damaging the self-employed and SMEs. He backed [former Prime Minister Rishi] Sunak’s huge spending, but not my tax cuts, which were smaller in size and would have increased growth.”

The former Tory leader also claimed that Britain’s system of government is “broken,” adding that “nothing will change with people like [Stride] in charge.”

Clash Over Economic Strategy

Stride’s remarks come ahead of the government’s Spending Review and just a day after Chancellor Rachel Reeves ruled out tax hikes. Similar to Stride, she said she would never jeopardise market confidence in the government’s fiscal discipline.

Despite Labour’s push for growth since July elections, the UK economy faces public sector net debt of 95.5 percent of GDP and inflation rates rising to 3.5 percent in April.

Stride said that the £25 billion national insurance hike under Labour had “slowed the economy down” and that their spending spree had “driven up inflation” and “keeps interest rates higher for longer.”

However, according to Reeves, the £40 billion tax increases in last October’s Budget and the funding decisions made by the government rule out “wasteful’ spending.”