Kemi Badenoch has pledged to abolish stamp duty land tax as part of her plan to revive home ownership and stimulate the housing market — describing it as an “unconservative tax” that prevents millions from buying or moving homes.
In a surprise announcement during her closing speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, the Tory leader said the next Conservative government would “abolish stamp duty on your home”, drawing a standing ovation from the audience.
“We must free up our housing market,” Badenoch said. “A society where no one can afford to buy or move is a society where social mobility is dead.”
She added that she had considered simply raising stamp duty thresholds but concluded that “it was not enough”, insisting that complete abolition was the “key to unlocking a fairer society”.
The policy will form part of Badenoch’s new fiscal framework, which she described as a “golden economic rule” for responsible public spending. Under the rule, half of all money saved from government cuts will be used to reduce the deficit, while the remaining half will fund tax cuts or investment in growth.
“We have to get the deficit down and show how every tax cut or spending increase is paid for,” she said. “At least half will go towards cutting the deficit, because living within our means is our first priority. And with the rest, we will get Britain growing and bring down the taxes that are stifling our economy.”
The Conservatives say they have identified £47 billion in potential public sector savings, including reductions in welfare spending, to pay for their tax pledges. Stamp duty currently raises around £12 billion a year, meaning Badenoch’s proposal would rely on these savings to cover the revenue shortfall.
Badenoch said scrapping stamp duty would not only support aspiring homeowners but also stimulate wider economic activity.
“When someone buys a home, it triggers a chain reaction — removals, DIY, furniture, home improvements,” she said. “This is about freeing up the economy and giving people back their sense of ownership.”
Economists and housing experts have long criticised stamp duty as one of Britain’s most distortionary taxes. Tom Clougherty, Executive Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs, welcomed the proposal, calling it “the single best reform any government could make to Britain’s tax system.”
“As things stand, this outdated and uneconomic levy is wreaking havoc on our already troubled housing market,” Clougherty said. “Research suggests that the wider social and economic harms are equivalent to three-quarters of the revenue raised.”
He added that abolishing stamp duty would remove a barrier to sales and house-building, boosting mobility and growth.
Alongside her housing policy, Badenoch pledged to cut household energy bills by £165 and reduce business energy costs by £5,000 for restaurants, as part of a new “cheap power plan.”
The measures would include scrapping green levies and restarting drilling in the North Sea, which she said would lower costs for families while supporting energy security.
Badenoch insisted she was “not a climate sceptic”, but argued that current net zero laws were “making Britain poorer” and needed reform.
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Kemi Badenoch pledges to abolish stamp duty in surprise conference announcement