Kemi Badenoch is expected to announce cuts to inheritance tax (IHT) in a keynote conference speech today, claiming the next election will be a “battle of ideas” between a government spending more and a Conservative party determined to make the state live within its means.
The Tories have not confirmed that inheritance tax cuts will be proposed. However, they have done nothing to quash speculation that Badenoch will make an announcement along these lines, to the point where it is now hard to see how she can deliver a speech that does not mention IHT without causing huge disappointment to her supporters.
IHT revenue and savings plan
Inheritance tax is set to raise £15bn a year for the Treasury by the end of the decade, and Badenoch is expected to propose cutting it rather than getting rid of it completely.
While any tax announcement is likely to dominate the headline, the Tories are also set to publish a “savings plan” today that will explain where they will find the money for tax cuts, including the £2.3bn cut to employer national insurance for young people announced by the party last night.
At their conference last year, the Conservatives said they had identified cuts to government spending worth £47bn, with £23bn coming from welfare. Yesterday Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said she had found “billions more” in cuts, in addition to those on the table last year.
Badenoch’s speech extracts
The Conservatives have released some extracts from Badenoch’s speech in advance. She will focus on an assertion that there is now a firm dividing line between Labour and the Tories on public spending. She will say: “There is a fight coming in British politics. A fight that we have not seen in this country for more than half a century. It will be a battle for the soul of this nation. A battle of ideas. A battle that goes to the very core of who we are and what kind of country we want to be. On one side we have a government that wants to wind back the clock to failed ideas of the past. They believe economic growth is created by politicians. They think government knows best. They think that your income, your pension and your savings are theirs to take and then hand out as they see fit. They claim that what they are doing is compassionate but we know that these ideas will make every single person in this country poorer. Your taxes will be higher. Your bills will go up. You will find it harder and harder to make ends meet. Just because these ideas are delivered on TikTok doesn’t make them any less dangerous than they have always been. On the other side of the battle is us. A renewed Conservative party fighting again for the belief that what people earn belongs to them, not government. That the collective wisdom of people in our country is greater than the central planning of bureaucrats and politicians. That spending money we don’t have on things we can’t afford is not kind, it is reckless.”
Agenda for the day
At 10am, Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory chair, opens the session. There are also speeches from Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, and Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary. Around 11.15am, Kemi Badenoch delivers her keynote speech.
