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Kemi Badenoch pledged to scrap inheritance tax on family homes in a conference speech that sought to present the Conservatives as the party of the economy.
Speaking in Birmingham on Wednesday, Badenoch said the Conservatives “are and always have been the party of home ownership”.
“The next Conservative government will legislate so nobody will ever pay inheritance tax on their family home,” she said.
“On top of that, couples will be able to leave an additional £1m tax-free, and these changes mean every inheritance tax bill will be cut, and the number of families paying inheritance tax will fall by more than half.”
Addressing reports that she was considering abolishing inheritance tax altogether, Badenoch said she intends to make this pledge “as soon as we can afford it”.
“We could do it, but not if we want to keep our country safe with a Britannia shield,” she added, referring to her party’s pledge of £10bn for a UK air defence system similar to Israel’s Iron Dome.
“Not if we also want to keep people safe with 50,000 new prison places, not if we want to cut the deficit, threatening to bankrupt our country and burdening our children.”
Badenoch repeatedly framed the Conservatives as the party of economic responsibility, and said that “spending money we don’t have on things we cannot afford is not kind; it is reckless”. The Tory leader said the party has already identified potential savings worth more than £70bn.
Badenoch said that there is a “battle for the soul of this nation” and positioned the Conservatives as “a renewed Conservative Party fighting again for the belief that what people earn belongs to them, not government”.
She said the Labour government led by Prime Minister Andy Burnham “wants to wind back the clock to the failed ideas of the past” and accused Labour of wanting to increase taxes and make it “harder and harder to make ends meet”.
The Conservatives have also proposed cuts to employer National Insurance contributions for those aged 21 to 24.
One of the most significant elements of Badenoch’s speech was about Reform UK.
The Tory leader launched a scathing attack on Nigel Farage’s party, in comments that seemingly put to rest the idea that the Conservatives could work with Reform at the next general election.
Badenoch said Reform politicians were “openly questioning people’s identity” based on their race, like black England football players.
“I am black, I am British, I am proud of my country,” Badenoch said.
“I’m proud of our history, all that we have done, and all that we will do in the world. Our best days are not behind us, and we will not let this country go backwards.
“I don’t want to live in a country run by people who threaten journalists, who call veterans traitors, and debate whether my mixed-race children are English. I don’t want to explain to my son when we’re watching our brilliant England team play football that some people don’t think our black players are English.”
She said the country “must not let these people take us backwards” and said that Reform is “not like us”.
“We are different, we are the Conservative Party.”
She said that one of the challenges facing the Tories was winning back voters who had left them for Reform, describing them as “our people”.
“We let them down, and we want them to come back home. They deserve better than Reform politicians,” the Tory leader said.
Badenoch said her party was on the way back after its heavy defeat at the 2024 general election.
“People were writing us off. Let me tell you, I’m not someone who gets written off, and neither is the Conservative Party.”
She described the Conservatives as the “no drama party”, with infighting a thing of the past, referring to MPs who have left the party for Reform since the last election, which include former cabinet minister Robert Jenrick, as “an export boom of drama queens”.
However, she also acknowledged that the party has work to do to win the next general election.
“There is still a lot of work to do. A lot of work. People are looking through the shop window. They like what they see, but let’s be honest: not enough of them are buying yet. We need to fix that.”
She added: “I want us to win in three years’ time. To be honest, I want us to win next week. We are ready for an election, whenever it’s called, because we are the only party that understands what has gone wrong in Britain and knows how to put it right.”
While Badenoch’s personal ratings are relatively positive, the Conservative Party continues to poll poorly.
The latest YouGov poll puts the Tories on 20 per cent compared to Labour on 27 per cent and Reform on 22 per cent.
