Kemi Badenoch Pledges to Abolish Stamp Duty on Main Homes
In a surprise announcement during her first conference speech as Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next Tory government would abolish stamp duty on the purchase of primary residences.
Concluding her 45-minute address to party members in Manchester, Badenoch declared the move would “unlock a fairer and more aspirational society” and help millions achieve the dream of home ownership. The announcement was met with a standing ovation from attendees.
The speech was seen as a critical moment for Badenoch, who is seeking to revive her party’s fortunes as it continues to trail the governing Labour Party and Reform UK in opinion polls.
“Stamp duty is a bad tax,” Badenoch told the audience. “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 a tax paid by homebuyers in England and Northern Ireland on properties valued over £125,000, with exemptions for first-time buyers on homes up to £300,000. The policy would not apply to additional properties, company purchases, or non-UK residents. Scotland and Wales have their own separate property taxes.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates the policy would cost around £4.5 billion, while the Conservative Party has put forward a “cautious” estimate of £9 billion. Badenoch stated the cost would be covered by a portion of the £47 billion in planned savings from the welfare and foreign aid budgets announced earlier in the week.
In her address, Badenoch concentrated her attacks on the Labour government, accusing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of leading a “weak and directionless” administration that was making “one hell of a mess” of the country.
She also outlined a series of other policy proposals to create clear dividing lines with her opponents, including:
- Scrapping business rates to boost high streets.
- Axing the carbon tax on electricity.
- Ending inheritance tax on family farms.
- Taking the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Acknowledging recent electoral defeats and poor poll ratings, Badenoch said voters were “still angry” with her party but positioned the Conservatives under her leadership as the party with the “bold” and “tough” ideas needed to fix the country.
