The Tories are quietly hopeful that they can win back a chunk of female Reform voters who have soured on Farage in the last few months. Multiple Tory MPs told Guido they think women are more likely to return to the Tory tent than men, and are keen to paint Reform as a ‘boys’ club’. “They like Kemi, they’re going off Reform… the Reform men in my constituency will be more difficult”, said one MP…
As Guido has reported, Labour is also losing support from women, with many (though not all) heading to Polanski’s Greens. The Tories are banking on picking up more…
The mood in Birmingham is more upbeat than last year’s wake in Manchester, though the bar is low. As one Tory source put it, “at least we have a pulse now”…
The Tories will announce that they will cut the cost of a new home by £50,000 today at Conference. From the overnight trails:
So far Badenoch and Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith have said Inheritance Tax Abolition is an “aspiration.” What else would you announce…
Kemi Badenoch opened Tory conference this afternoon by publishing ‘The Right Way’, a 95-page pamphlet modelled on the party’s 1976 Right Approach. Most of its policies have been announced before, although Badenoch is obviously promising more over the next three days. Tomorrow will focus on the economy, Tuesday on defence, and Wednesday on standards…
The new policy today pledges to introduce free childcare to families where a parent earns over £100,000. Below is a summary of ‘The Right Way’. Click here to read the full thing…
Economy and welfare
Energy
Government
Crime
Defence
Borders and immigration
Labour has avoided an attack on the Tories’ new policy to restore tax-free shopping for foreigners. Was the government considering it itself…
Sunak as Chancellor scrapped the VAT Retail Export Scheme for non-EU visitors in 2021. It is now Tory policy to bring back the relief for non-EU visitors and extend that to EU visitors if the results are good. Labour has only attacked the Tories’ U-turn and criticised the party for failing to say in enough detail how it would be paid for. But no criticism of the policy itself…
The issue divides Labour figures. Recently ennobled Sadiq Khan called for the relief to be reintroduced this month, saying:
“London is a globally renowned tourist destination, but the decision to remove tax-free shopping by the previous Government was a huge mistake which has led to us trailing behind other European cities on visitor spending for too long.”
Last year Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she had heard “very loud and clear” calls from figures in the fashion industry to reinstate the relief and that the government would be “happy to look at the evidence.” Asked in parliament, Treasury ministers said the government “carefully considered external analysis estimating that a new tax-free shopping scheme would generate more revenue than cost for the Exchequer, as well as supporting data from a wide range of business stakeholders across the UK. However, these do not provide sufficient evidence that a new tax-free shopping scheme would have greater benefits to the UK than costs.” Something that could change with the analysis…
Businesses have welcomed the Tory policy. Did Badenoch spike one of the easy tax cuts Burnham put in his back pocket to justify further hikes?
Kemi Badenoch has set the lawyers on the government over the 40% funding cuts that Tory-run Wandsworth Council claims has forced it into a gigantic 94% council tax rise. Band D bills are set to soar from £1,020 to £1,978…
She told Newsnight last night:
“We have actually instructed lawyers, as the Conservative Party, to see if we can challenge the government on this decision.
Because what it looks like Labour is doing is taking money from areas that don’t vote Labour, and giving it to places that do vote Labour.
And I think that’s completely wrong. I think it is outrageous. So we’re talking to lawyers. Andy Burnham has not found 40 percent of anything to cut, but he’s asking Wandsworth to do that. I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t think that’s right.”
The Tories are blaming Rayner’s funding shake-up, which redirects money north to Labour areas. Although the Tories’ own summer spending review at the town hall also points the finger at the Labour administration they turfed out in May for running down reserves and growing the payroll by 14% since 2022. Which is par for the course when the Labour sheriffs are in town…
Andrew Griffith is in North London for his first speech as Shadow Chancellor. He has made headlines this week after suggestions that the Tories will promise to scrap or cut Inheritance Tax at conference. Kemi confirmed she was looking at the hated levy…
In a trail Griffith said he wanted to simplify taxation, which drew ire from Robert Jenrick, who said:
“Andrew Griffith was the very person who abolished the office for tax simplification after the tax code ballooned to 23,000 pages – why on earth would anyone believe him now? After making IR35 worse, freezing VAT thresholds and imposing reams of red tape, businesses won’t forget the Tories’ betrayal.
Simply asking Labour not to raise taxes isn’t enough. Britain needs a radical change in direction not more hollow talk from a stale Tory opposition that had every opportunity to fix the system and failed.”
Kemi Badenoch at the 1922-ConHome bash last night:
“I did praise [Burnham] for his stamina, it was amazing. All I had to do was sit back and lie there. I didn’t have to do anything at all…”