Kemi Badenoch’s speech in the City followed Lord Rose’s broadside on Times Radio

Yesterday was a day for hard truths and straight talking.

It began with City veteran Lord Rose who said the UK is “at the edge of a crisis.” The former M&S chief and Asda chair said that after working for more than 50 years, and despite a predisposition to optimism, he looks at the state of the country today and shudders.

The problem, in a word, is growth. Or, in three words, lack of growth. “We have got no growth in the economy,” he said, adding that “if you have no growth in the economy, you’re not creating any wealth [and] if you haven’t got any wealth, you can’t put into the nation the services that voters want and voted for.” He has urged the government to change tack.

Lord Rose has articulated what

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