Businesses need to “get on the pitch” to speak up against policies they think are damaging their prospects, Kemi Badenoch has said.
The Conservative leader also appealed to business leaders to support her party, suggesting there was no credible alternative which would represent their interests.
Speaking at the FTSE 250+ conference in central London, Mrs Badenoch said: “My message to business is: I’m on your side, but I need you to be on mine too.”
The Tory leader’s appearance at the gathering came as the latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures showed the UK economy shrank more than expected, the day after the Government unveiled spending plans prioritising health and defence over the next few years.
Speaking to an audience of business and investment chiefs, Mrs Badenoch hit out at Labour’s tax rises, including the inheritance tax on family farms and national insurance employer contributions.
She added: “You need to support policies that back enterprise, and you need to challenge those who want more state control.
“Don’t just wait for other politicians to do it.
“You need to get on the pitch too.”
The Tory leader claimed the UK has “forgot that business is a good in and of itself, and it pays for everything. It is the source of our prosperity”.
Mrs Badenoch added: “The challenge all of us in this room have now is that many people don’t believe this anymore.”
People instead believe “business hoards wealth” and is “greedy and needs to be taxed more”, she said.
Mrs Badenoch continued: “This is a crisis.
“And the question before us is simple: Who has credible solutions?
“And I know many of you will be asking, ‘Why should we trust the Conservative Party?’
“And I say because no-one is making the argument for business … except me and my party.”
At PMQs I talked about Labour creating an economic spiral.
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) June 12, 2025
A reminder we have 4 more years of this… pic.twitter.com/epCeUsau2N
Labour offers only “managed decline”, she said, before taking aim at Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.
Mrs Badenoch appealed to the audience, signalling voters cannot “allow Farage, with no experience of legislating – he’s never in Parliament, let alone government – to just come in”.
She added: “Can you imagine 360 random people suddenly taking over government saying they are going to fix everything?
“We were there for 14 years, sweating and labouring, it was unbelievably difficult.
“How many of you would allow your businesses to be run by people who have never been in that business and say ‘Come on in, I’m sure you can fix it’?
“That’s what he’s offering, it’s not real.
“It is a scam, and it’s my job to expose that scam.”
A Reform UK spokesman said: “Kemi admits they had 14 years and yet all they achieved was sky high taxes, low growth and open borders.
“The only scam is her telling the British public that the Tories have changed.
“It’s the same people and the same old failed ideas.
“Quite simply, the Tory party is irrelevant.”
