Conservatives would slash regulation, promises Redwood
John Redwood has promised that a future Conservative government would introduce a deregulation bill to tackle “over the top and self-defeating” directives.
The Shadow Minister said the Conservatives would “stop the flow” of regulation from their first day in office, and put the bill through Parliament in their first year.
Speaking to the Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth, he accused Labour of discouraging “all but the hardiest of entrepreneurs” with red tape and centralised controls.
The Government lacks a feel for business, which was why it wanted to regulate it “to death”, he added.
“Many of their regulations are well intentioned yet they add up to a swingeing £30,000 million a year. All so often they turn out to be the sledgehammer that misses the nut or the sledgehammer that smashes the nut completely.”
Mr Redwood citied Labour’s pension regulations, which he said had not strengthened pensions but had led to “the worst five years on record” for savings.
He said: “Regulation is over the top and often self defeating. I have more government than I want. More government than I need. More government than I can afford.”
Mr Redwood vowed that a Conservative government would, from its first day in office, start removing the “worst” regulations. It would tell officials that if a department wanted a new law, it would have to explain why it was needed, how much it would cost, and what laws it could repeal or remove at the same time.
“We have to stop the flow, change the automatic assumption that there is a legislative answer to every risk and that every front-page story can launch a new Statutory Instrument,” he said.
In the first week, departments would be asked to bring forward their contribution to the deregulation bill. Meanwhile, ministers would draw up a list of unwanted EU regulations to be taken to Brussels for renegotiation.
Mr Redwood called on the conference to help him, and suggest which laws should be amended or repealed.
