Kemi Badenoch, in a bid to refocus attention on her struggling party, has announced plans to eliminate Stamp Duty. The Conservative leader injected energy into a lackluster party conference with a bold speech emphasizing the Tories’ commitment to rectifying the damage caused during their 14-year tenure in power.
Unveiling her proposal in Manchester, Badenoch labeled Stamp Duty as a detrimental tax hindering the housing market’s fluidity. She stressed the importance of freeing up the housing market to foster social mobility by making homeownership more accessible.
The fine print clarified that the Stamp Duty abolition would be restricted to primary residences, with exceptions for second homes, properties purchased by businesses, and overseas buyers. This move is expected to primarily benefit buyers of high-value properties, as Stamp Duty exemptions apply to homes valued up to £125,000, with the exemption threshold increasing for more expensive properties.
Under the plan, first-time buyers would be exempt from Stamp Duty if their new home costs less than £300,000. The Conservative Party estimates the cost of the scheme to be approximately £9 billion annually, to be covered by £47 billion in spending reductions in welfare, foreign aid, and the civil service. However, economists have cautioned that the proposed cuts lack specificity and are challenging to evaluate.
Badenoch’s pledge concluded a speech brimming with policy proposals aiming to improve her party’s dismal polling numbers. She criticized the Labour Party, asserting that only the Conservatives could rescue the nation from the economic and border security decline witnessed under the opposition’s watch.
The Tory leader outlined plans to reverse several Labour policies, such as ending tax benefits for private schools and altering inheritance tax laws for farms to redistribute wealth to affluent individuals. She also presented staunch promises regarding mass deportations, withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights, abolition of the Climate Change Act, and prohibition of doctor strikes.
While briefly mentioning Nigel Farage and his Reform Party’s growing support, Badenoch criticized him for engaging in unsustainable spending practices akin to Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Davey. She underscored the need for responsible fiscal management and positioned the Conservatives as the solution to the country’s challenges.
In a subtle dig at Farage, she emphasized the ineffectiveness of merely attacking opponents and quoted George Bernard Shaw’s advice on not engaging in futile conflicts. Responding to Badenoch, Anna Turley MP from the Labour Party criticized her denial of the Tories’ past failures and their reluctance to acknowledge the repercussions of their governance.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey targeted moderate Conservatives, urging them to distance themselves from Badenoch’s right-leaning policies. He argued that her proposals, including plans to discard the Climate Change Act and exit the ECHR, contradicted traditional British values of tolerance, decency, and respect for the rule of law.