As the weekend, Peter was honoured to attend and deliver a keynote address at The Margaret Thatcher Centre Freedom Festival 2026 in Buckinghamshire.
Transcript:
Thank you for the warm reception, and
I would like to extend my thanks to the organisers of this superb Conference.
For those of you that may not know me:
I am the Member of Parliament for Mid Leicestershire, and
I am also pleased to be making the authentic Conservative policy case within the Shadow Work and Pensions team.
Holding the Governments largest spending department to account on everything from the spiralling welfare bill to pensions provision.
I was born and raised in Northamptonshire, with my two younger brothers, by my single mother.
Conservativism, Thatcherism, let alone engagement with the political process was not something we as a family engaged with.
But it was certainly the Thatcherite instincts of Aspiration, Opportunity, and Hard-work that has allowed me to ‘get on’ – despite my humble and challenging upbringing.
Sadly, those on the political left, who subscribe to identity politics, may look at me:
… mixed-race
… working-class lad…
… from a single parent family…
… and wonder WHY on earth I am a Conservative?!
But fundamentally it is because of the principles espoused by the ‘great lady’ that we are all here to celebrate this weekend.
Mrs Thatcher just got it didn’t she?
She changed the Conservative Party from acceptance of ‘managed decline’ to a party of optimism and aspiration.
She understood:
It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from…
… it’s what you do with your life that matters.
I was certainly not walking the streets of Eton or Harrow in my youth.
She challenged the typically Conservative assumption of hierarchy…
… and opened up the party to people like me.
And I think something, that we would all appreciate today, she spoke in frank terms.
Whether that was about:
… Mr Scargill…
… The Unions… or
… General Galtieri…
… you were never in any doubt where she stood.
When you think of the qualities she possessed, and qualities that our leaders of recent years have… shall we say… lacked:
· CHARISMA
· Being a THINKER
· But most importantly a LEADER.
It was not just how she spoke…
… It was what she said.
She believed in aspiration…
… something that should sit at the very heart of every Conservative MPs philosophy.
I believe in people from all backgrounds:
… earning a few bob…
… through hard work…
… going out and spending it…
… and being proud that they are able to do so.
And why shouldn’t people be proud of economic success, particularly when they may have come from modest beginnings?
In a world of capitalism and free enterprise…
… there should be no boundaries of class…
…or creed…
… or colour…
… everyone should be able to climb the ladder…
… as high as their talents will take them.
Her steadfast belief in freedom is something I hold at the very core of my own Conservatism.
That is why I was proud to vote against what I saw as a draconian and misguided smoking ban.
Yes, we all know smoking is harmful.
But Government should trust adults to make decisions for themselves.
And Mrs Thatcher…
…alongside President Reagan… taught me something else:
… never every trust somebody who says…
“I’m from the Government… and we’re here to help.”
It is a mantra that I have held onto as an MP…
… and I have been amazed by the sheer scale of waste I see…
… day in… day out…
… in Westminster and Whitehall.
From the sprawl of arm’s length-bodies…
… to the vast expansion of the public sector…
… it is clear:
The British state needs a reset.
And the British Public… especially those working in the private sector… are beginning to see that more clearly than ever.
When Mrs Thatcher came to office…
… Britain was in decline.
Un-democratic Trade Unions dominating industry…
… inflation out of control…
… strike after strike…
… and a dangerous dependency on the state.
We had become a country forced to go cap in hand to the IMF.
You could wake up in a home heated by a failing nationalised industry…
… take transport by another…
… and go to work in yet another…
… all the while… spending your life never interacting with the free market.
And as we all know…
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
That is why the Thatcher revolution was needed… and is needed again, now more than ever!
People often speak about the city boom under Mrs Thatcher, and rightly so.
Alongside Nigel Lawson, she made Britain investable again.
Money flowed in…
… from global investors backing Canary Wharf…
…to ordinary people…
… people like me or you…
… putting our own money into once-failing industries.
But this is not the whole story.
Thatcherism sparked two other great transformations.
First… a boom in social mobility.
Rooted in freedom…
… it gave people…
… especially those from modest backgrounds…
… the chance to shape their own future.
Through Enterprise Schemes…
Through lower taxes…
Through the Right to Buy…
… millions moved from dependency to ownership…
… gaining not just property…
… but also, a pride and a stake in society.
And second… a renewed sense of national pride.
Mrs Thatcher ensured that Britain was no longer the “sick man of Europe.”
The Falklands showed we would stand up for our values…
And from my own visit there last year…
… her legacy… clearly… still resonates… And…
… she alongside other Western allies…
… such as President Reagan…
… Britain helped bring the Cold War to a close.
From the fall of the Berlin Wall…
… to the opening of the first McDonalds in Moscow…
… these were not just symbolic moments…
… but victories for freedom over tyranny.
So, even in today’s bleak times…
… why can’t we reignite that spirit?
Now… obviously we would prefer that to happen under a Conservative government…
… but it does not have to be.
Even Tony Blair recognised the success of Thatcherism.
By reforming Clause IV…
… and actually, embracing enterprise…
… New Labour accepted that they could not take Britain back to the 1970s.
I only hope that today’s Labour leadership would understand that lesson.
Within my own party… there are also encouraging signs.
The 2024 intake is rediscovering a more Thatcherite voice…
… championing a free… entrepreneurial and property-owning democracy.
But we are only mere foot soldiers.
And I am glad that Kemi is keeping right on…
… refusing to drift back towards the bland malaise of centrist fence-sitting.
Because as we all know in this room…
… “standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.”
But what is clear…
… is that for Britain to rediscover its sense of purpose…
… we do need leadership like Thatcher brought.
We need a leader that believes in conviction politics and not be pulled from pillar to post by Civil Servants…
We need a leader that will be thoughtful in how they carry out their policies…
We need a leader that is not a technocrat and is not afraid to make the bold decisions that they believe is right for the country.
Unfortunately…
… as with previous Prime Minister’s…
… the current one is falling woefully short.
Constant U-turns undermine business…
… Our global standing weakens when we drift from allies… such as the US.
… And our democracy is strained when unelected bodies block the will of elected Governments.
I completely agree it is vital that we continue to celebrate the legacy of Mrs Thatcher…
… who rose to become one of the greatest peacetime leaders this country has ever known.
But our task today…
… and beyond this conference…
… is that we need to restore these values to be at the heart of British politics.
Because Britain today needs a State that is: Better…
…. Not bigger
A State that is smarter in how it acts…
… and more restrained in what it does.
One that supports those in genuine need…
… but never creates dependency.
One that serves the public… not one that is driven by bureaucracy… the Civil Service… or unelected bodies that stand in the way of growth.
We must end the culture of waste and inefficiency…
… where taxpayers’ money is too often funnelled into Quangos whose sole purpose is… seemingly…
… to deliver little and block much.
And alongside that… we must lift the burden on working people…
Not by imposing stealth taxes or freezes to personal tax thresholds…
… but by simply allowing people to keep more of what they earn.
By rewarding responsibility… encouraging saving… and trusting individuals to make decisions about their own futures.
A strong nation and economy can never… ever… be built on dependency.
We must stand firm behind businesses…
… From family farms to high-growth start-ups…
… from local enterprises to global investors…
… Britain should… and could be the best place in the world to…
… start… grow and succeed in business.
This means we will…
… back our farmers and other family businesses…
… ease the pressure on employers…
… and create a tax system that rewards investment… not punishes it.
Because when business succeeds…
... Britain succeeds.
We must have the courage to cut back unnecessary regulation:
We did not take back control from the European Union…
… only to reimpose barriers to growth at home.
Sadly, this Government seems intent on doing so!
The Employment Rights Act will prove to be one of the most damaging pieces of legislation to growth and the career prospects of many; particularly the young:
… it has ridiculous DEI criteria “the banter ban” that will lead to vexatious claims against employers…
… it has day one-rights that will put many employers off taking the risk on employing new workers…
And it has the most pro-Trade Union laws reforms…
…taking us back to the dark days of 1970s.
Britain has a proud history…
… values that have shaped the world.
We should shout about that with confidence… not hesitation.
We must ensure that those who come to this country do so ready to contribute…
… to integrate…
… and to share those values.
Not standing on the street supporting our enemies at every possible chance.
I do fear that the fabric of our nation is tearing at the seam and we desperately need to do something about it.
So, as a country the choice before us is clear:
We can continue on the path of higher taxes…
… greater control and declining ambition…
Or we can choose a different path…
… one of pride in our nation…
… aspiration
… personal responsibility….
… enterprise…
… and of course… freedom.
Let us get out there and tell others that Britain must be…
… more dynamic…
… more self-sufficient
and more confident…
And perhaps then we will look back at the 2030s as a political revolution that Mrs Thatcher oversaw in the 1980s.
