Badenoch expected to announce plan to cut inheritance tax and claim UK faces ‘battle of ideas’ over spending – UK politics live

Conservative leader will deliver her keynote speech to Tory conference later

When Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, gave his conference speech two weeks ago, he was clearly making a pitch for the moderate Tories who either switched to his party two years ago, or who might cross over at the next election. Since 2024, on migration and Europe, Kemi Badenoch has been sounding increasingly like Nigel Farage. As a result, for one nation Conservatives, her party has been a turn-off.

Now that is changing. The story of this conference is that – belatedly, but significantly – Badenoch is trying to win them back.

The Family Homes Tax, which Labour call a High Value Council Tax Surcharge, was announced by Rachel Reeves in her 2025 budget, and is due to start in April 2028. It will add between £2,500 and £7,500 a year to the council tax bill of every home in England affected. Even the lowest band costs more than the average Band D council tax bill in England, which stands at £2,392 this year, so the surcharge alone will cost more than a typical family pays for all its council services. However, there have been recent reports that the threshold could be lowered even further …

A Conservative government will abolish the Family Homes Tax outright, and if Labour legislates before the election a Conservative government will repeal it. The Family Homes Tax is an unfair tax raid on the homes people have worked hard for. It is a purely political and spiteful tax raid by Labour. The tax is expected to raise just £400 million a year compared to the over £50 billion a year raised by the council tax system. It adds huge complexity for very little gain in terms of overall revenue.

It’s true that not a lot of people are hit by the £100k childcare thing, but the thing is, all of the people who are live in about 100 seats, 40 of which the Tories need to win from the Liberal Democrats, 20 of them they have to prevent the Liberal Democrats winning next time.

(The other 40 are Labour held seats where a lot of socially liberal high earners are locked in a loveless marriage with Labour to try and stop the Greens winning the seat.)

Seems the Tories have finally looked at an electoral map

This is stupid it only benefits rich couples with children”

(Points at map) - look at the blue bits. What do they have in common?

Yes Cons do best with pensioners who have paid off their mortgages but next group to target after that is high income families who feel, not without reason, that they are taxed more heavily than ever. They have noticed and aren’t happy about it. That’s a political opportunity!

We are under new management. Your viewers will know that sometimes you have a football team that’s disappointing. There’s a new captain, there’s a new coach, there’s a new owner, effectively, which is all me.