David Cameron hit out at regional development agencies, the “inadequate regulation” of supermarket chains and the “big-is-beautiful” approach to public sector reform in a speech on Monday that will revive business unease about the Conservative agenda.

A Conservative government would unpick the government’s regional agenda “piece by piece”, stripping RDAs of their transport and planning powers, and possibly axing some of the £2.3bn-a-year quangos altogether, the Tory leader said.