The Tories will abolish stamp duty if elected, Kemi Badenoch pledges

Mrs Badenoch used her leader’s speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester this morningto set out her vision of a country where the state “does less but does it better” and “profit is not a dirty word”.

She pledged to impose a “golden rule” on her budget plans, spending only half of any savings made through spending cuts, with the rest going to reduce the deficit.

And she said she would cut student numbers, saving £3bn that would then be spent on doubling the apprenticeship budget, and reverse Labour’s VAT hike on private school fees and inheritance tax on farming and agricultural businesses.

But in the final passages of her speech, she went further, committing to free up the housing market by abolishing stamp duty on people’s primary homes.

She said: “We Conservatives believe that owning your own home gives you a real stake in society, roots in your community.

“But our housing market is not working as it should, because there’s a big barrier that keeps getting in the way.

“That barrier is the tax you have to pay when you buy your home.”

She continued: “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.

“The next Conservative Government will abolish stamp duty on your home. It will be gone.

“That is how we will help achieve the dream of home ownership for millions.”

Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) 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 (IFS) has estimated that abolishing stamp duty on primary residences will cost around £4.5bn.

Last year, it said: “In a crowded field, SDLT has a claim to be the most economically damaging tax in the UK.

“It makes both housing and labour markets less efficient, acting as a drag on growth.

“It should be reduced or – even better – abolished, and certainly not increased.”

As more people get pulled into stamp duty thresholds ahead of the next election, the Conservatives said they had “cautiously” estimated that the policy would cost £9bn-a-year by 2029.

Mrs Badenoch insisted she could meet this promise while sticking to her new “golden rule”, saying this was the “fiscally prudent” thing to do.

The Tory leader said this would be paid for by making £47bn of savings on welfare, environmental initiatives and the overseas aid budget over a five-year Parliament.

Mrs Badenoch’s spokesperson said axing stamp duty would be a “big priority” of her Government, although could not give a timescale on when it would be enacted.

After the Conservative leader’s speech, Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore told The Yorkshire Post that it had put a “full stop” on any debate around her position.

“It was absolutely an illustration of uniting the party, with some clear things we can go out and campaign on like getting rid of the family farm tax, the family business tax and stamp duty.

“For all of those that want to get on the housing ladder and progress and grow in home ownership, this is a fantastic announcement.

“All of that can only be achieved by getting a sound economic footing.”

Following the speech, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged “one nation” Conservatives to join his party, accusing Mrs Badenoch of deciding to “abandon the traditional British values of tolerance, decency and the rule of law” over plans to leave the ECHR.

Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said Mrs Badenoch had been in “complete denial”, saying: “The public saw the Tories’ disastrous blueprint for Britain across their 14 years of failure in government – and the Conservatives still won’t apologise for the mess they left.”

The MP for Redcar added: “Kemi Badenoch set herself a new ‘golden economic rule’ today and broke it immediately.

“It’s the same old Tories, with the same old policies without a plan. They didn’t work then and you can't trust them now.”