Sir Mel Stride said businesses need hope as he set out what he described as a “radical plan to rebuild our economy”.
He told the Conservative Party Conference on Monday: “Under Labour, many have seen their business rates double.
“We need to get business rates down. In fact, we need to go further – much, much further.
“So, today I can announce that as a direct result of getting public spending under control, a future Conservative government will completely abolish business rates for shops and pubs on our high streets.
“End of, finished, gone.”
Sir Mel set out plans to slash £47 billion from public spending as the Conservatives continue to battle dire poll ratings, with some surveys putting the party in fourth place.
He insisted Tories need to “hold our nerve” as voters appear to turn to Reform UK.
The former cabinet minister said “all things are possible” and the party needed to set out “bold” policies to win back support ahead of his keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference on Monday.
His comments come a day after polling guru Sir John Curtice told an event on the fringes of the event in Manchester that the party was “undoubtedly” on course to finish fourth behind the Liberal Democrats.
But Sir Mel said that, with four years to go until the next election, anyone attempting to predict the outcome was “being pretty brave”.
“If you were interviewing me in 2019 and I was a socialist, you’d be saying: ‘Mel Stride, you’ve had the worst result for the Labour Party since the 1930s, you’re never going to get back into office’, he said.
“And look what happened five years later. All things are possible.
“And what we’ve got to do is hold our nerve and, as we are at this conference, come forward with credible, bold, relevant policies, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
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The Conservatives have made “stronger economy” one of the slogans of their conference, and Sir Mel attempted to reclaim the party’s reputation for economic responsibility in his first conference speech as shadow chancellor.
His plan includes swingeing cuts, including £23 billion in savings by preventing people with “low level” mental health problems from claiming sickness benefits and restricting welfare eligibility.
On Sunday, the party said it would “ensure only British citizens can access welfare”, but the plans will also see EU nationals with settled status continue to be eligible, in line with the UK-EU treaty.
Sir Mel said this made no difference to his numbers, as they already excluded payments to EU nationals.
“I want to make a very clear statement to you today: those savings will mean we can urgently bring down government borrowing, because we cannot deliver stability unless we live within our means,” he told the conference.
“No more pretending we can keep spending money we simply do not have. It falls to us, as today’s Conservatives, to do the responsible thing. That’s the right thing for our country and it’s also the right thing for the next generation.
“So, to younger people, I say: we will get debt off your back. We can and we will. “I want to go further to send an unequivocal message to those young people starting out in life: if you work hard and do the right thing, the Conservative Party is on your side.
“So, we will reduce the benefits bill, and as a consequence we will fund tax cuts that are laser-focused on aspiring young people.”
Along with his proposals for spending cuts, Sir Mel also proposed giving new workers a £5,000 national insurance rebate when they get their first full-time job, that they can then put towards buying a home.
Rachael Burford
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