09/12/2025
“Get Britain Working Again” – reflections from a Conservative member at today’s event with Kemi Badenoch MP
This morning, Tuesday 9 December, I attended a “Get Britain Working Again” event at Glaziers Hall, London Bridge, with Kemi Badenoch MP, Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition.
As a Conservative Party member – and as someone who runs a business in the care sector – I wanted to hear directly how our party intends to challenge the Labour Government’s approach to work, welfare and the economy.
The backdrop said it all: a bold map of the UK and the words “GET BRITAIN WORKING AGAIN.” It set a serious, purposeful tone from the start.
Starting at the bottom – not the top
Kemi opened with a personal story. Recently she worked a shift in a café alongside James Cleverly, our Shadow Housing Secretary. She joked that it had been a long time since she’d worked a till or tried to make cappuccinos and lattes – and that she discovered she isn’t very good at them!
But her point was important:
she and James didn’t start their careers at the top. Her first jobs were at McDonald’s and then New Look. They began in exactly the kind of roles many people now describe as “menial” – and worked their way up.
She contrasted that with a worrying attitude we increasingly see today: people turning down honest jobs in shops, cafés and other frontline roles because they think those jobs are beneath them.
As Conservatives, we believe in the dignity of work at every level. That’s why she and James went back behind the counter – to highlight that message.
Ruth’s café – the human cost of Labour’s choices
The most moving part of the speech centred on the café owner, Ruth. After their shift, Kemi and James sat down to talk with her.
Ruth shared how tough life has been: a recent divorce, losing her house, and still getting up every morning to keep the business going. When Kemi asked how the Labour Budget had affected her, Ruth broke down in tears.
She explained that:
• She’s facing yet more tax rises, despite earlier promises that she wouldn’t.
• The business rates relief she was depending on will now not materialise.
• Meanwhile, people who choose not to work – and who would reject the kind of job she offers – seem to be better protected by the system than small business owners like her.
Kemi summarised Ruth’s experience as a “budget for benefits”: if you work hard and do the right thing, you get less; if you stay on benefits, you get more.
A clear Conservative challenge to Labour
Kemi then widened the lens to the national picture under the current Labour Government:
• Over 6 million working-age adults are on benefits rather than in work – more than the entire population of Norway.
• The country is effectively paying millions to stay at home, while piling higher taxes on the people and businesses who create jobs and generate growth.
• This, she argued, is “economic suicide”: it punishes those who get up, open their shops, run their care services or invest in new ideas – and it will leave Britain poorer while more ambitious countries overtake us.
As a Conservative member, I was encouraged to hear such a direct, unapologetic alternative: a commitment to make work pay, to support people back into employment, and to stand up for wealth creators rather than treating them as a problem.
Why this matters to me in the care sector
In social care we see the consequences of these policies every day:
• recruiting and retaining staff is increasingly difficult;
• small providers carry heavy regulatory and financial pressures;
• and in some cases, people are no better off – or even worse off – by choosing to work in care than by staying on benefits.
Ruth’s story could easily be the story of a small homecare provider: personal sacrifice, constant uncertainty, and a tax and welfare system that too often penalises the very people who are keeping services going.
That is why the Conservative message about the dignity of work and the importance of making work pay is not just a slogan for me – it is essential to the future of our sector and our communities.
Leaving Glaziers Hall
Walking out of Glaziers Hall, I felt three things strongly:
* Pride in being part of a party that still talks openly about responsibility, aspiration and hard work.
* Frustration at seeing small businesses and employers like Ruth – and like many of us in care – being squeezed by Labour’s decisions.
* Determination that, in Opposition, we must sharpen our alternative and communicate it clearly to the country.
“Get Britain Working Again” is not just a slogan on a screen. It is a challenge to all of us in the Conservative Party to show how we would govern differently from Labour – backing workers, backing businesses and restoring fairness for those who do the right thing.
I was glad to be in the room today and even prouder to play my small part in that fight for Britain’s future.
