Conservatives would scrap stamp duty, Badenoch announces

The next Conservative government would abolish stamp duty on the purchase of main homes, Kemi Badenoch has said, in a surprise announcement at the end of her first conference speech as party leader.

Badenoch received a standing ovation from Tory activists in Manchester as she declared: "That is how we will help achieve the dream of home ownership for millions."

She said scrapping stamp duty - a tax paid by home buyers in England and Northern Ireland - will "unlock a fairer and more aspirational society" and help people of all ages.

It came after a speech packed with new policies aimed at grabbing political attention and setting out clear dividing lines with her opponents.

Badenoch was under pressure to deliver the speech of her political career, to end speculation that she will face a leadership challenge, as her party continues to trail Labour and Reform UK in the polls.

Her 45-minute address was peppered with jokes and personal stories and went down well in the hall, where - in contrast to some of the other speeches this week - there was standing room only.

And in a clear break with the leaders' speeches at the Labour and Liberal Democrat conferences, she only mentioned Reform twice.

Instead, she concentrated her fire on Labour, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of leading a "weak and directionless" government, which was making "one hell of a mess" of the country.

Her announcement on stamp duty was kept under wraps until she delivered it, telling the Tory faithful: "Stamp duty is a bad tax.

"We must free up our housing market, because a society where no one can afford to buy or move is a society where social mobility is dead."

Stamp duty is paid by people buying homes for more than £125,000 - but first time buyers are exempt from it on properties worth up to £300,000.

Those buying homes worth more pay a percentage of the value of the home.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves was reported to be considering scrapping stamp duty at her Budget in November, although Badenoch claimed it would be significantly increased.

Stamp duty brought in an estimated £13.9bn in the last financial year, but a large proportion of this is from additional homes and other buildings.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has estimated that abolishing stamp duty on primary residences will cost around £4.5bn. The think tank has previously called for it to be scrapped, arguing it gums up the housing market and discourages people from moving to take up new jobs.

The Conservatives said they had "cautiously" estimated that the policy would cost £9bn.

Under the Tory plans, stamp duty will be abolished entirely on "primary residences". The tax would continue to be charged on additional properties, properties purchased by companies, or by non-UK residents.

Stamp duty does not apply in Scotland and Wales, which have separate property taxes. The Welsh Conservatives have said they will replicate the cut if they win power in May's elections.

Badenoch insisted she could meet this promise with the money to come from £47bn in planned savings the party announced earlier this week, from cuts to the welfare budget, foreign aid, and Civil Service.

The Conservative leader has promised that in office, her party would ensure half of all savings would be put towards reducing the deficit, the gap between government spending and tax revenues.

Badenoch said the pledge would be a "golden rule" of any future Tory government, as she tries to rebuild credibility on the economy and present her party as the only one that will responsibly manage the public finances.

In her conference speech, Badenoch claimed the Conservative Party was "fizzing with ideas" to fix the "broken model" she said was holding the country back.

She pledged to scrap a string of government policies - from new employment rights to VAT on private school fees.

And she ran through some of the big policy announcements the party has made this week, including:

• Scrapping business rates to boost high streets

• Axing the carbon tax on electricity

• Trebling police stop and search in crime hotspots

• Closing down "rip off" university courses and boosting apprenticeships.

Her promise to end the "family farm tax" got a big cheer in the hall, and her proposals to slash welfare spending and take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights also went down well.

In a sustained attack on the Labour government, she said: "All they have delivered is a doom loop of higher taxes, weaker borders, and month after month of chaos.

"They had a plan to win, but no plan for power.

"No vision for Britain. They know how to make promises, but not how to deliver them."

Acknowledging the Conservatives' dire opinion poll ratings and recent local election losses, she said voters were "still angry" with her party.

And in a swipe at Reform, she said this had led to "parties that in normal times would never be seen as a serious option for government are gaining ground, making promises they will never be able to keep".

But the speech was chiefly aimed at emphasising that the Conservative Party is under new leadership - one that was prepared to make the "bold" and "tough" decisions that her opponents would not.