Conservatives vow to end hated Labour tax in massive annoucement

Conservatives vow to end hated Labour tax in massive annoucement Tories will end a tax blamed for pushing up checkout prices Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Jonathan Walker , Whitehall Editor 22:00, Sun, Oct 4, 2026 Updated: 22:05, Sun, Oct 4, 2026 Kemi Badenoch at the Conservative conference in Birmingham (Image: Getty) Conservatives are pledging to axe a Labour grocery tax that is pushing up the price of food and drink at checkouts. It’s one of a series of policies to help households with the cost of living crisis to be announced by Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith , part of Tory leader Kemi Badenoch's shadow cabinet. Speaking to the Conservative conference in Birmingham, he will say: “No one else is coming to save our economy. Only we can inject reality, tell the hard truths and make this a country we are proud to hand on to the next generation.” Other key announcements include removing red tape in the construction industry, to cut the price of a new home by up to £50,000, and supporting a third runway at Heathrow, which Mr Griffith argues will allow airlines to deliver more cheap flights. The Shadow Chancellor will vow to scrap Labour’s “green” packaging tax, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, which is costing shops and manufacturers £1.6 billion. The policy is designed to ensure businesses pay the cost of recycling rather than local councils, but the Bank of England said in August 2025 that this could add an extra 0.5% on to food inflation, with industry leaders echoing the warning. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Vladimir Putin just made his biggest ever nuclear threat - Andy Burnham needs to wake up Free hijabs handed out to nearly 1,000 small boat migrants - ‘an insult’ Get the latest politics news - straight from our team in Westminster and more I would like to receive emails from the Daily Express featuring our latest products, services, offers, and promotions from across the Reach Plc family . Subscribe Invalid email You agree you are 18 or over. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. You can unsubscribe at any time. More Info . However, Labour pressed ahead with the tax, which came into effect in October last year. Food inflation is running at 2.5% and retailers have warned it will rise next year thanks to poor harvests connected to extreme weather conditions and high energy costs. Welcoming the Tory announcement, Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Packaging costs have soared, and producers are now paying three taxes to recycle the same materials to the tune of nearly £3 billion a year - costs which push up prices and hold back hiring. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT “It’s high time to review these taxes and end the triple taxation once and for all.” Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Karen Betts, Chief Executive of the Food and Drink Federation said: “We’ve ended up with an alphabet soup of overlapping packaging taxes. They are adding billions to the cost of making food and drink. “This is pushing up prices in shops and deterring investment in UK manufacturing.” Mr Griffith will pledge to scrap net-zero housing red tape that he says is stopping developers from building and driving up the cost of housing, with the price of buying a new home set to fall by an estimated £50,000. This is on top of the announcement made at last year’s conference that a Conservative government will axe stamp duty. He will announce that a Tory government would reform the law to make it harder to mount a legal challenge against new infrastructure projects. Government bodies Natural England and the Environment Agency will be scrapped, to stop them blocking housing and infrastructure, with the Department for the Environment taking on much of their work directly. And in an effort to cut fuel bills, Conservatives would speed up the delivery of new nuclear power stations and get Britain drilling by approving exploitation of the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields in the North Sea. Mr Griffith will 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.” He will also pledge to simplify the UK tax system, calling it “one of the worst in the world.” Mr Griffith will say: “So, as well as cutting taxes, tax simplification will be a mission for every treasury minister.” The Shadow Chancellor will pledge back a third Heathrow runway, which is also supported by unions Unite and the GMB. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has suggested Manchester Airport should be expanded instead. Heathrow Chief Executive Thomas Woldbye said: “We welcome the growing ‘can do’ consensus behind Heathrow expansion and the Conservative leadership’s recognition of the role we can play in driving growth across the UK. “Heathrow and our investors stand ready to work with politicians from across the spectrum to finally get the third runway built.” Campaign group the Countryside Alliance expressed concern about plans to axe quangos such as Natural England. Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said: “It is vital that critical decisions about the future of rural communities are taken by elected Ministers, not bureaucrats. "Returning the important functions of these quangos to direct government control could go a long way to ending the accountability gap and cutting red tape for the custodians of our countryside. The Countryside Alliance supports the proposal and shall monitor closely over the coming months as the policy develops." 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