Advertisement
The Conservative Party has unveiled its boldest plan yet to rescue Britain from economic catastrophe: making it easier for people who already own houses worth a fortune to give them to their children without the state nicking a bit of it.Kemi Badenoch announced this week that the Conservatives would scrap inheritance tax on family homes, allowing couples to pass on up to £1 million tax-free. The policy would reportedly be funded by finding £70 billion of savings across government, which is reassuring because there is apparently £70 billion of spare change down the back of Whitehall.
Nobody knows where the £70 billion is yet, but Conservative officials have suggested it may be hiding behind the photocopier with several hundred billion pounds of efficiency savings, three missing productivity reports and the country's dignity.
The plan is expected to benefit fewer than five per cent of estates, meaning the Conservative Party has identified the tiny group of people most in need of urgent assistance: those whose parents have died leaving them a house worth more than most people will earn in a lifetime.
“This is about aspiration,” Badenoch insisted.
And she is right. Nothing inspires the nation quite like watching somebody inherit a four-bedroom house in Surrey while simultaneously being told that public services need to learn how to make do with less.
The announcement came during the Conservative Party conference, where Badenoch also ruled out a pact with Reform UK and attempted to reposition the Tories as the sensible, grown-up alternative to the political chaos surrounding them.
Reform accused the Conservatives of offering policies that mainly benefit the wealthy. Labour accused them of making unfunded promises. The Liberal Democrats presumably accused everyone of being insufficiently beige.
Still, there is a certain elegance to the Conservative plan; after years of promising to fix Britain, they have finally found something they can definitely fix.
Your inheritance.
Provided you have one.