𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Kemi Badenoch has spoken at her party’s conference this afternoon, outlining major policies. The Conservative Party leader vowed to scrap inheritance tax on family homes and raise the threshold for death duties to £500,000 if the Tories win the next election. She said that election will be a “battle for the soul of the nation”, as she promised her party would focus on letting people “keep more of what they earn” if it returned to power. She accused Andy Burnham’s Labour of being “addicted to welfare” and treating income and savings as “theirs to take and hand out”.

“The Labour Party think it is selfish to pass on what you have earned to your children,” Ms Badenoch added. “We don’t.” Party officials said the move would be funded by measures including the reintroduction of the two-child benefit cap and cuts to out-of-work welfare payments and Universal Credit.

The cap was scrapped by Rachel Reeves before she was replaced by John Healey as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mrs Badenoch said her policy would mean the number of families paying Inheritance Tax would fall by more than half, and couples could leave behind an additional £1million tax-free.

The existing levy is charged on the value of estates above £325,000, with the nil-rate band rising to £500,000 for those who leave their main home to direct descendants. Pitching the Tories as the “no-nonsense” party to take on Labour at the next election, she said they would adopt a “tough love” approach to slash the benefits bill and get more young people into employment.

“We need to put the fair back in welfare,” Mrs Badenoch added. “It is morally wrong to tell people suffering bouts of mild anxiety that they are disabled and cannot work.”

The Conservatives also want to abolish stamp duty on primary residences. The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has suggested the national security cannot come at the expense of social security as he is under pressure to increase spending on Britain’s defence.

In his speech at Labour’s conference, he announced that the State Pension triple lock would be adjusted in 2030 in order to partly fund a new National Care Service. He also announced that Britain’s water would be brought back into public ownership, a National Commission on Electoral Reform and a closer relationship with Europe.

In addition, Mr Burnham reiterated that local leaders must be devolved more power from Westminster.

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