Kemi Badenoch: UK economy is ‘strong’ and heading for ‘radical change’

Kemi Badenoch was last night set to tell an audience of US captains of industry that the UK is pursuing the "kind of radical change that we’ve not seen for 40 years" and that its economy is "strong".

In a trenchant defence of the Government's economic policies, the Trade Secretary appeared to compare it to the era of Margaret Thatcher.

She was expected to tell investors and chief executives in a speech in New York that Britain will become an "even better place to do business".

She also doubled down on the mini-Budget, saying that the UK is "going for growth in a big way".

It came as the Bank of England warned of a "material risk" to UK financial stability and stepped in to buy long-term gilts following last week's mini-Budget.

With Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng less visible on Wednesday, Ms Badenoch stepped forward in a speech addressing 450 British and American business and government leaders at the Atlantic Future Forum in New York on Wednesday night.

The forum was taking place on board the UK’s largest and most powerful warship, the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

In addition to reassuring US investors about the long-term strength of the UK economy, the Trade Secretary was also due to invoke Ronald Reagan, making the argument that free trade is vital for global peace.

She was expected to say that the UK and US must respond to China’s "growing assertiveness" and oppose "economic coercion" and unfair trade practices.

Ms Badenoch was expected to begin by telling US business leaders that she wanted to address the "elephant in the room" and the "financial instability in markets over the last few days".

She was set to tell them that the Bank of England had "taken short-term measures to provide stability - as is their job" and that the Chancellor is "continuing to work very closely with our institutions to support them in their aims".

She was due to say: "We must look at all of this in the context of the fundamentals, which are that the UK economy is strong, and we have a growth plan to cut taxes, promote enterprise and cut red tape for business.

"There is radical change happening on our side of the Atlantic. It’s the kind of radical change that we’ve not seen for 40 years."

The Trade Secretary was set to show Britain's attractiveness to US investors by stressing that corporation tax would be kept at the lowest in the G20, at 19 per cent.

She was emphasising that level is "not cutting … keeping".

Ms Badenoch was also due to detail to US investors how critical infrastructure projects would be accelerated in transport, energy and telecommunications.

She was set to outline how financial services reforms will make the UK an "even better place to do business", stressing that Britain would be spending three per cent of GDP on defence by 2030.

She was also expected to say that the UK-US trading relationship must act as a counter to protectionism and authoritarian regimes.

"The UK-US economic partnership is the clearest possible example of why free trade and free markets are not just integral to our growth but to the freedoms we share," she was expected to say.

Quoting Reagan, she was expected to say: "Free trade serves the cause of economic progress and it serves the cause of world peace."

Ahead of her speech, Ms Badenoch said: "The UK is a low-tax, high-talent, innovation nation and I will show America’s biggest companies that we are ready to be their investment partner of choice.

"The US is our single most important trade, defence and security partner. We share the same values - freedom, free trade and the rule of law.

"Our special relationship means together we are a force for progress as we face down countries who threaten these values.

"Every morning, over a million people get up and go to work for British companies in America, and over a million do the same for American companies in the UK."

The number of people employed by US businesses in the UK has risen three-quarters since 1997, to 1.5 million.

The Government says US investment is also supporting its levelling up agenda, with 60 per cent of those 1.5 million jobs based outside of London and the south-east.

Following her speech, Ms Badenoch will meet New York-based investors and promote the UK as a "defence, cyber and tech superpower, and a source of unmatched talent", discussing investment opportunities to grow the UK economy.

She will also speak to Katherine Tai, the US trade representative and her counterpart in the Biden administration.

Ms Truss recently said she does not believe Britain will begin negotiations for a US trade deal in the “short or medium-term”.

The UK is instead pursuing deals with individual states.