Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has vowed to scrap stamp duty on homes if the Tories return to power, in a keynote speech aimed at reviving her party's fortunes after a lacklustre conference. Addressing delegates in Manchester, she declared: 'I thought you'd like that one,' as the policy drew applause.
In a thinly veiled attack on Nigel Farage, Badenoch quoted George Bernard Shaw: 'Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.' She dismissed Reform UK as unserious, accusing it of making undeliverable spending promises.
The Tory leader also pledged to reverse Labour's VAT on private schools, inheritance tax on farms, and employment rights reforms. She outlined a 'golden rule' that half of all savings from cuts would reduce the deficit, with the remainder used for spending or tax cuts.
Badenoch called for police to focus on fighting crime, including fare dodging, and to abandon 'pointless paperwork'. She also vowed to stop doctors from striking. The speech came amid a row over shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick's remarks about not seeing 'another white face' during a visit to Birmingham, which he has denied being racist.
Closing her address, Badenoch said: 'This is the Britain I stand for. If it is the Britain you stand for, then stand with me and let's build it together.' She emphasised a vision where people are 'judged by the content of their character, not the colour of their skin.'
