Badenoch Champions Milei's Deregulation Vision for UK Revival
In a significant political endorsement, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has publicly praised Argentine President Javier Milei's radical approach to slashing state intervention, calling for similar measures to revitalise Britain's stagnant economy. This alignment with Milei's controversial "chainsaw" methodology signals a potential shift in Conservative economic policy toward aggressive deregulation.
The Crushing Burden of Regulatory Expansion
Recent analysis reveals the staggering scale of Britain's regulatory burden. The Centre for Policy Studies reports that regulations introduced between 1998 and 2019 have imposed a gross annual cost of £83.4 billion on British businesses. This financial weight comes alongside a dramatic expansion of regulatory bodies, with former Bank of England Governor Lord King noting that Bank staff numbers have ballooned from 2,000 to 5,000, primarily in regulatory roles.
Business leaders consistently identify overregulation as their primary barrier to growth and hiring. Despite widespread recognition of this productivity-damaging problem, the legislative machine continues to accelerate, with 343 bills tabled in the current parliamentary session alone. Many proposals, from the "A34 Slip Road Safety Bill" to the "Public Authority (Accountability) Bill," appear to legislate common sense rather than address genuine economic challenges.
New Legislation Exacerbating Business Challenges
The Employment Rights Act, dubbed the "unemployment rights act" by critics, exemplifies problematic new regulation. Scheduled to take effect this month, it removes minimum service levels for industrial action while introducing provisions that particularly burden small and seasonal businesses. Coastal enterprises face damaging "right to guaranteed hours" requirements, while SMEs confront day-one rights to paternity and parental leave that complicate hiring decisions.
This regulatory onslaught coincides with worrying employment trends. December 2025 saw payrolled employees decrease by 184,000 year-on-year and 43,000 month-on-month, suggesting current approaches are failing to stimulate job creation.
Sector-Specific Regulatory Strangulation
The housing sector demonstrates how regulation continues to hamper growth even in areas with tentative vacancies. Baroness Taylor of Bolton, Chair of the Industry and Regulators Committee, recently criticised the Building Safety Regulator for causing delays "far beyond statutory timelines," noting that such bureaucracy "does not improve safety" while deterring new housing delivery.
Meanwhile, the impending Renters Rights Act threatens to destabilise the private rental market further. By removing fixed-term tenancies and extending eviction notice periods, this legislation risks discouraging property investment while offering landlords minimal protection against changing personal circumstances.
The Cumulative Effect on Enterprise
Beyond headline legislation, businesses face death by a thousand regulatory cuts. Recent Companies House ID verification requirements add another administrative burden for entrepreneurs already struggling with compliance. This regulatory accumulation reflects a fundamental shift in state philosophy—replacing confidence in collective common sense with prescriptive control over economic decisions, including increasingly restricted ISA allowances.
A Path Forward: Learning from Milei's Example
To escape this economic malaise, Britain must embrace radical deregulation as championed by Javier Milei. This involves not only trimming the state's welfare, health, and civil service expenditures but fundamentally reassessing the regulatory framework that stifles innovation and hiring.
Economic liberation requires freeing strivers from tax bracket traps and allowing businesses to operate without constant bureaucratic interference. While Britain's best days potentially lie ahead, achieving them demands cutting the cord of nanny-state infantilisation that currently paralyses our economic promise with red tape.
Jamila Robertson is director of the centre for the future of work.