Kemi Badenoch pledges youth tax cut and rejects Reform UK pact at Conservative conference

Youth tax cuts and employment policy

At the Conservative Party annual conference in Birmingham, party leader Kemi Badenoch announced economic measures aimed at younger workers. The primary pledge involves cutting employer national insurance contributions from 15% to 7.5% for staff aged between 21 and 24 if the Conservatives win the next general election. Conservative officials state the measure will cost £2.3bn after factoring in additional tax receipts and lower welfare spending, delivering an average annual saving of £1,545 per young employee. The proposal responds to figures showing the UK youth unemployment rate reached 16.4%, surpassing the European Union average and marking its highest point since 2014. Badenoch also refused to commit to reinstating the state pension triple lock if Prime Minister Andy Burnham alters the mechanism before the election, with full funding details for the national insurance cut scheduled for release on Wednesday. Under the broader youth platform, the party also plans to bar 16- to 24-year-olds who have not worked continuously for six months from claiming universal credit.

Rejection of Reform UK pacts

Speaking to the BBC during the conference, Badenoch ruled out entering an electoral pact or governing coalition with Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Polling indicates a hung parliament at the next election, with Conservative voter support standing at approximately one in five. Badenoch stated she would prefer fighting another general election immediately over forming an alliance with Reform UK.

If you want Conservative, you have to vote Conservative. I have said we'd have another election if there was no overall majority.

Badenoch cited controversies within Reform UK, including the resignation of former Welsh leader Dan Thomas following an arrest on suspicion of assault. Reform UK responded by announcing an open primary in November to choose its candidate against Badenoch in North West Essex, where she retained her seat in 2024 by 2,610 votes. The Conservatives published a 100-page policy document titled The Right Way, while Reform UK hired an advertising van to circle the conference venue.

Defence proposals and conference disputes

The party also presented a defence proposal named Britannia Shield, which allocates £10bn over 10 years to construct a missile and drone interceptor network. Badenoch distanced herself from a Conservative press release that described the project as a British equivalent of Israel's Iron Dome.

We are not building the Iron Dome. We are doing what other European countries are doing: Greece, Benelux countries, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and Germany. We are designing something specific for the kind of threat that we face here.

Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge explained that the phrase iron dome was used generically to describe missile defence systems. Former RAF Air Command deputy commander Greg Bagwell expressed scepticism, warning that £1bn annually would prove insufficient to shield the entire country and its overseas bases. Badenoch also defended Margaret Thatcher's privatisation of water companies during an interview with ITV News, despite Thames Water holding £18bn of debt, while guest speaker Jeremy Clarkson remarked from the main stage on low conference attendance.