Kemi Badenoch has been criticised over her plans to cut inheritance tax on family homes as she warned a "fight is coming" over public spending in her keynote speech to the Conservative party conference.
In an attempt to appeal to the traditional Conservative base, the Tory leader said her ambition was to abolish inheritance tax entirely and promised to allow couples to leave behind an additional £1 million tax-free.
The vast majority of families do not pay the levy as it stands: just one in 20 estates are affected. Married couples already have a combined tax-free property limit of £1 million.
TUC criticises policy
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: "This is a tax paid only by the very richest estates – 95% pay no inheritance tax at all. Cutting it would do nothing for ordinary people."
He added: "This is the same old Tory playbook: cutting taxes for their rich mates and leaving working people to pick up the bill. They are a party for inherited wealth, not workers."
Speaking to the party faithful in Birmingham, Badenoch said the next election will be a "battle for the soul of the nation" as she promised the party would focus on letting people "keep more of what they earn".
Reaction and context
Continuing his criticism, Nowak said the Tories "only know the right way to economic ruin".
He said: "It takes some gall for the Tories to wax lyrical about a stronger economy after crashing the pound, hammering living standards with austerity, and overseeing 14 years of anaemic growth. The Conservatives only know the right way to economic ruin and hardship."
"Consecutive Tory governments tested their crackpot schemes for a low-rights, low-investment economy to destruction - and working people are still paying the price."
The speech comes after the Tory leader was mocked following a gaffe over her party's so-called Iron Dome announcement and was criticised over "fantasy economics".
Policy details
Badenoch announced that the Tories in power would abolish inheritance tax on family homes entirely. Currently, inheritance tax is charged at a standard rate of 40% and only applies to people who have an estate worth £325,000. This rises to £500,000 if a home is passed on to a child or a grandchild.
She also said her ambition was to abolish inheritance tax entirely and announced couples will be "able to leave an additional £1 million pounds tax-free" to their families under a Tory government.
In her speech, Badenoch also insisted the Tory party is ready for an election and claimed they are "bursting with ideas". She said: "I want us to win in three years' time. To be honest, I want us to win next week. We are ready for an election whenever it's called because we are the only party that understands what has gone wrong in Britain and knows how to put it right."
