Old slogans are the best? Kemi Badenoch reminds Gen Z what politics is supposed to be about

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told ministers the UK needed to 'live within our means' during a pre-Budget speech at the Institution of Civil Engineers in London. Picture: Alishia Abodunde | Getty Images

Once upon a time, in a land not so very far away (not at all in fact, for it was this one), political discourse was mostly about taxes, public spending, education, the health service and stuff like that.

To the younger generation, raised to expect politicians to bang on about national identity, gender identity, sovereignty, the ‘will of the people’, immigration and other assorted ‘culture war’ issues, this may come as a surprise.

READ MORE: Kemi Badenoch presents Tories as tax-cutting alternative ahead of UK Budget

Kemi Badenoch’s latest speech was, therefore, a refreshing blast from the past. The Conservative leader bluntly told ministers to “stop borrowing so much”, that “the best welfare is a well-paying job” and that – resurrecting a favourite old slogan – the country needed to “live within our means”.

Whether she’s right or wrong about all this is, of course, a hugely important question and, incidentally, we think she has a point. However perhaps more important is that she’s engaging with issues that are central to the economic health of this nation, not using one form of empty nationalism or another to mask a lack of serious policies that both Scotland and the UK really do need.