The Conservatives want to focus on reducing public sector net borrowing (PSNB), which represents the difference between total government spending – including capital investments – and total tax receipts.
In its latest forecast, the Office for Budget Responsibility said PSNB is forecast to fall from £137.3bn (4.8% of GDP) this year to £74bn (2.1% of GDP) in 2029-30.
The Conservatives say they are concerned about the level of overall borrowing and interest payments on the debt.
Party sources say they are sceptical of Labour’s plans to bring down the deficit and doubt the OBR’s forecasts will bear out in reality.
Getting the deficit down was one of the main economic policies of David Cameron’s coalition and Conservative governments from 2010.
Under Badenoch, the Conservatives are shifting back in that direction and the language in her speech mirrors that of the former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne, who oversaw years of spending cuts in a bid to reduce the deficit.
Reform UK has also promised to make savings worth billions to offset big spending on tax cuts, the NHS and defence.
At the conference, Conservatives have branded Reform UK “socialist” over their promises to increase spending and nationalise industries.
Like other parties, the Conservatives have upped their attacks on Reform UK, which is leading UK-wide opinion polls.
Badenoch has faced repeated questions about her leadership at the conference in Manchester.
It is her first conference as Conservative leader after she was elected last year in the wake of the party’s heavy defeat in the 2024 general election.
Her party performed badly at the local elections earlier this year and the Conservatives have sunk far below Reform UK and Labour in the polls since.
But speaking to the BBC ahead of her speech, Badenoch insisted her approach would pay off in the long run.
She said: “I’m not losing. I’m going to be winning.”