The Tories go back to basics

FT News Briefing

This episode of the FT News Briefing examines a notable slowdown in global corporate dealmaking, driven by higher borrowing costs and the collapse of several mega-deals. The

Key takeaways

• Corporate M&A activity dropped approximately 13% last quarter, partly due to the abandoned $400 billion AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb tie-up.
• Kemi Badenoch is steering the Conservative Party away from culture wars toward tax cuts, welfare reduction, and deregulation to regain political relevance.

Main topics

• Corporate M&A slowdown
• UK Conservative Party conference strategy

Notable quotes

"credible deterrence requires us to make aggression against us unthinkable."

Conclusion

The episode delivers concise, actionable context on shifting corporate dealmaking trends, strategic

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) you Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Monday, October 5th, and this is your FT News Briefing. Kemi Badenach opts for bread-and-butter issues at the Tory party conference. Speaker 3 (0:13) But I think you're seeing a switch of emphasis from the Tories, knowing that you can't out-farage-farage. Speaker 2 (0:20) And is the deal-making boom coming to an end? Plus, the Israeli government is pushing settler expansion in the run-up to elections this month. I'm Josh Gaberdoyan, and here's the news you need to start your day. Speaker 2 (0:42) Corporate dealmaking took a pretty decent hit last quarter. Higher borrowing costs thanks to the war in Iran and questions over the impact of AI led to a slowdown in corporate mergers and acquisitions. Dealmaking M &A is down about 13 % according to data compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group. That figure was driven in part by the unraveling of some mega deals like the abandoned $400 billion tie-up between AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Before the downturn last quarter, 2026 was actually on track to be a record year. But analysts think things might pick up again before the U.S. midterms. The idea is that companies might try to push through deals if they see the potential for a stricter regulatory regime under a Democrat-controlled House or Senate. Speaker 2 (1:33) UK party conference season is rolling on this week with the Conservatives in Birmingham, where leader Kemi Badenoch is trying a new approach. While Labour is riding a wave of momentum with Andy Burnham, and reform is proving to be a formidable competitor to the Tories, Badenoch is going back to old-fashioned centre-right fiscal politics. The FT's George Parker is in Birmingham for the conference. Hi, George. Hi there. So, George, Conservative Party conference is coming right off the back of a pretty well-received Labour Party conference. What are the Tories trying to hit home in Birmingham this week? Speaker 3 (2:10) Well, the first thing is they'll be trying to get a hearing because there's been a danger in the last few months of Kemi Badenoch and the Conservative Party being drowned out, first of all, by Andy Burnham becoming the leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister. He's had a middle of the honeymoon period at the moment, as you say, a successful Labour conference from last week in Liverpool. And of course, Nigel Farage on the right of the Tory party, someone else who sucks up a lot of political oxygen as well. So this is a big moment for Kemi Bade not to try to get a hearing, to try to get a message across the country that the Conservative Party is still relevant, that they've got a message that they hope will resonate with the public. And also an attempt, I think, by the party to reconnect to the business community who felt a bit shunned by the Tories over the last five or six years. Speaker 2 (2:53) Right. And she's targeting this sort of upper income spectrum too, isn't she? She announced changes to how people earning over £100,000 a year