Badenoch vows to scrap stamp duty

The Conservative party would abolish stamp duty if in power, according to party leader Kemi Badenoch.

Giving her speech to close the Conservative party conference, Badenoch said the tax would be scrapped entirely on primary residences.

She stated: “Our housing market is not working as it should.” This was because “there’s a big barrier that keeps getting in the way. That barrier, conference, is the tax you have to pay when you buy your home”.

Stamp duty was harming people of all ages, the Conservative leader indicated: “Young people trapped in the pain of renting. Workers who want to further their career. Pensioners who want to downsize but can't afford the thousands of pounds they have to pay in tax.”

Badenoch labelled stamp duty “a bad tax”, and an “unConservative tax”. Acknowledging that the previous Conservative administration had cut the tax for “thousands of home buyers”, she said she had considered changing stamp duty thresholds or lowering rates but had concluded that “we can’t, because that simply wouldn’t be enough”.

Badenoch announced: “The next Conservative government will abolish stamp duty on your home. It will be gone.”

This was “how we will help achieve the dream of …