Kemi Badenoch has insisted she will not let her party be “written off” as she announced a raft of policies the Tories would put into place if they won the next election. During her keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, she vowed to slash inheritance tax and cut benefits as she pitched the Tories as the “no drama” party to take on Andy Burnham’s Labour.
The leader said the next election will be a “battle for the soul of the nation” and promised her party would focus on letting people “keep more of what they earn”.
The ‘No-Drama Party’
The drama is gone from the Tories and the worst offenders “exported” to Reform, Ms Badenoch insisted. She acknowledged things can change quickly in politics, telling delegates: “Keir Starmer, remember him? Last year he was talking about being in power for a decade – now he’s not even an MP.
“Life comes at you pretty fast. And to think, people were writing us off. Let me tell you, I am not someone who gets written off, and neither is the Conservative Party.
“There is a reason our party is still here after 200 years. We have adapted to every single challenge and every single age, and we are doing it again.”
The “drama” voters rejected at the 2024 general election is gone, she added. “The Conservatives have had an export boom of drama queens going to Reform,” she said. “This party is now the no-drama party, we are the no-nonsense party.”
Build Heathrow’s Third Runway
Prime Minister Andy Burnham needs to “stop faffing about” and build a third runway at Heathrow, Ms Badenoch said. She pledged to make growing the economy by building more the central principle of the next Conservative government.
“There will be construction jobs because we will have scrapped obscure rules like the Aarhus Convention,” she said. “That’s what activists use to block development. When we are in charge, no-one from Natural England will turn up with a clipboard to count all the bats and newts.
“It’s time for us to build new nuclear and not worry about whether the fish can have discos.
“And, yes, it’s time to finally build that third runway at Heathrow.
“Last week, Andy Burnham said Heathrow expansion was the matter for London. No, Prime Minister, you are not the mayor of Manchester any more. The future of our country’s busiest airport is not a regional matter, it is a matter for you. So, stop faffing about and let’s get this runway built.”
Inheritance Tax Slashed
The Tories are not pledging to abolish inheritance tax, Ms Badenoch said, but the party will legislate so nobody “will ever pay” the levy on their family home. She declared the Tories “the party of home ownership”.
“Let’s go back to first principles – what is the thing that most people want to pass on to their children and grandchildren? It is their family home,” she said. “Conference, the Conservatives are and always have been the party of home ownership.
“We understand why putting roots down and having a stake in society matters – our homes are where we watch our children take their first steps.
“They are where we gather every Christmas to put up the same decorations – passing on your home to your family is one of the most human instincts of all.
“So, conference, the next Conservative government will legislate so nobody will ever pay inheritance tax on their family home.”
Couples would also be “able to leave an additional £1 million pounds tax-free” to their families under a Tory government, she said.
50,000 New Prison Places
In a policy heavily trailed ahead of her speech, Ms Badenoch confirmed her party’s plans to build 50,000 new prison places in England and Wales. The move would stop criminals being released early, the Tory leader said. It would cost £2 billion a year to construct and run the new jails, which would be funded by spending cuts. It comes after hundreds of prisoners were released early last week amid an overcrowding crisis.
Invest in Defence
The Tories on Tuesday proposed a new air and missile defence system designed to protect Britain and its overseas bases from potential military attacks.
Ms Badenoch stressed the need to invest in Britain’s defences rather than spending money on smaller, local projects. “If Russia sends a missile to hit Manchester, £2 bus fares are not going to save us,” she said.
