Kemi Badenoch’s proposal to eliminate stamp duty has been criticized as “desperate” and likened to Liz Truss by a senior minister. Pat McFadden, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, accused the Conservatives of implementing tax changes without proper funding and failing to learn from past mistakes.

During a lackluster party conference, the Conservative leader announced plans to abolish Stamp Duty, branding it as a hindrance to the housing market. McFadden remarked on the similarities to previous instances where the Tories introduced unfunded tax changes, leading to financial repercussions for the public.

The controversial stamp duty policy, unveiled by Badenoch at the Tory conference, was later revealed to only apply to primary residences, excluding second homes, properties purchased by businesses, and overseas buyers. The move is expected to primarily benefit buyers of expensive properties, as no Stamp Duty is levied on homes valued up to £125,000, with the exemption threshold rising for higher-priced properties.

The Conservative Party estimates the cost of the plan to be around £9 billion annually, intending to cover it through £47 billion in spending cuts across various sectors. However, economists have raised concerns about the vagueness and complexity of the proposed cuts, making their assessment challenging.

Experts caution that scrapping stamp duty may not significantly ease home buying barriers for some individuals, as the potential benefits could be offset by inflated house prices. Stuart Cheetham, CEO of mortgage lender MPowered, highlighted the possibility of rapidly rising property prices negating any savings for first-time buyers.

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, emphasized that simply removing stamp duty could result in the tax burden being transferred to property prices, rather than benefiting buyers directly.