Kemi Badenoch has dropped another big hint at a pledge to slash inheritance tax as she kicks off Tory conference today.
The Conservative leader said reducing the levy would be ‘morally right’ amid mounting speculation about an eye-catching move.
The party is gathering in Birmingham as Mrs Badenoch tries to build on fledgling signs of a revival.
Shadow ministers have been making a flurry of policy announcements intended to show they are a serious prospect for Government.
They include ending the ‘cliff edge’ on childcare entitlement, which currently means parents earning more than £100,000 do not qualify.
Deputy leader Alex Burghart has committed to reversing any effort by Andy Burnham to unwind Brexit, while shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith is said to be mulling ways to curb public spending.
Kemi Badenoch, pictured arriving at Tory conference last night, has dropped another big hint at a pledge to slash inheritance tax
Inheritance tax is seen as a charge on aspiration, even though most families do not pay it.
The 40 per cent levy applies to estates worth more than £325,000, but for most married couples the rate is effectively £1million due to allowances being transferrable and relief on £350,000 of the value of a primary home being handed down.
Speaking to the Sunday Times ahead of the conference, Mrs Badenoch was asked if she planned to abolish the tax.
She replied: ‘It is morally right that people don’t get taxed twice. It is morally right that if you work hard and want to give something to your children the Government doesn’t take it away.’
Mrs Badenoch later added: ‘I am not going to announce tax cuts unless we can show how we pay for them… tax cuts are a good thing but you’ve got to be fiscally responsible.’
Under the Tory proposals on childcare, all parents working 16 or more hours a week will be eligible to get 30 hours of free care a week.
The policy is estimated to cost £700million a year, which party officials say could be funded by cutting the number of public servants at arm’s-length bodies.
Mrs Badenoch told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: ‘What we want to see is that people who work harder don’t get punished for doing so.’
Elsewhere, the Tories have announced a plan to tighten access to student loans for non-UK nationals – a policy they say would save the taxpayer £900million a year.
The proposals would also block EU Settled Status (EUSS) claims, a system the Tories said is being ‘abused’.
Mrs Badenoch’s combative performances in Parliament have won praise and seen her personal ratings improve significantly.
However, the Conservative brand appears to still be lagging behind, with party chiefs keen to show there is a strong team.
Arriving at conference yesterday, Mrs Badenoch was asked how the Tories intended to overturn the poll deficit with both Labour and Reform.
She said: ‘I think that people will see that we have gone on a journey. We’re not the party that the public said no to in 2024. We are a new Conservative Party.
‘I’ve got a strong team. So much of my shadow cabinet are here, and they are going to be showing all the wonderful plans we have to get this country working again.’
The Conservative leader arrived at the conference venue in the centre of Birmingham alongside her husband, Hamish Badenoch, a banker.
