Badenoch to offer tax cuts as Tories pitch ‘credible alternative’ to Labour
Expectations are growing that Kemi Badenoch will announce “multiple” tax cuts in her flagship speech at the Conservative Party conference, with announcements on national insurance and inheritance tax set to take centre stage.
The Tory leader is looking to boost her support base among Britain’s middle classes as she warned that an early election would lead to a hung parliament if a vote was called by the Prime Minister.
Badenoch has led the party on a pledge to restrain public spending and cut taxes, with the party announcing on Tuesday afternoon it would halve employers’ national insurance contributions for workers aged between 21 and 24.
The new £2.3bn pledge is one of its top offers to tackle youth unemployment, bringing the tax rate down from 15 per cent to 7.5 per cent for this age group. Party officials said earnings above £50,270 would still face the standard rate and smooths a cliff edge given employers do not pay national insurance for workers below the age of 21.
Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said Labour was “destroying the future of our young people” given the governing party had raised employers’ national insurance contributions by £25bn.
Tories push agenda for tax cuts
At last year’s conference, Badenoch surprised party members with a new proposal to abolish stamp duty on primary residences.
Ahead of tomorrow’s major speech by the Tory leader, it has been suggested that Badenoch could announce a reduction on inheritance taxes.
A person involved in the party’s policy planning said there would be a number of tax cut announcements at her speech on Wednesday.
Hung parliament warnings
This week, Griffith said the party would reverse plans to impose mansion taxes and would scrap the controversial packaging tax.
In interviews on Tuesday afternoon, Badenoch said she believed inheritance taxes were “a problem”, doubling down on her criticism of the levy that affects families and several business owners.
She told Sky News that many of the wealthiest families used trusts to avoid inheritance taxes as levies affect “the middle class”, many of which have been dragged into tax bands after extensions of threshold freezes.
“We are not announcing any tax breaks unless we can afford to pay for them,” Badenoch said.
“Whether it’s inheritance taxes or any kind of tax cuts, we are the party of fiscal responsibility. So we’re starting with the savings. And we need to make sure that where there are tax cuts, they are things that encourage people to go out and work, not just to bang, say, here’s a bit more money.”
On Monday, Jeremy Clarkson appeared at the conference in Birmingham where he attacked Labour’s decision to impose higher inheritance taxes on farmers.
Badenoch also warned that an early election could lead to a hung parliament. Polling has shown voting shares for Reform UK, the Conservatives and Labour to be split by close margins.
She said that “if there’s an election now, there’d be a hung parliament”.
“Actually the thing about an election is that people get to see what is really out there…. We are the only credible alternative to Labour.”
A party spokesman said reports on unannounced tax cuts represented “speculation”.