Badenoch revives one of the Tories’ most popular policies – but is anyone listening?

Badenoch revives one of the Tories’ most popular policies – but is anyone listening? Tory leader takes inspiration from George Osborne’s 2007 speech in a bid to win back voters – but it might not be enough to turn the party’s fortunes around, as political editor David Maddox explains - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Kemi Badenoch is attempting to recapture a moment in recent Tory history which spurred her party on to what at the time seemed to be an unlikely election victory. Back in 2007 the then-shadow chancellor George Osborne spooked Gordon Brown’s Labour government by announcing the Tories would raise the threshold on inheritance tax. The move at the Tory conference that year scared Mr Brown so much that he ditched his plan for an early election and actually introduced the policy himself. The following election in 2010, overseen by Mr Osborne, saw David Cameron’s Conservative Party emerge victorious as the largest party and head into a coalition government with the Lib Dems. Now, in her speech almost 20 years later, Ms Badenoch used the hatred of inheritance tax again to try to fuel what appears to be an unlikely Tory revival, with the party languishing at around 20 per cent in the polls and in third place behind both Labour and Reform UK. The Tories argue that, contrary to current figures that only one in five people are affected by inheritance tax, that figure is about to rise to 16 per cent due to rising housing costs. The idea of lifting family homes out of inheritance tax altogether, as well making the first £1m of assets tax free, especially helps spark a potential revival in London and the south east of England where property prices are high but the party has lost out to the Lib Dems, Labour and Reform. This is very much about cementing Tory support back in its former heartlands. But it will not help them in places such as East Anglia or the north or England and the Midlands where they are still losing out to Reform. Those who want Ms Badenoch to reach out more to working class voters will be unhappy that aspiration is limited to the well off, without considering tax cuts which help more people, such as a penny off income tax. But this is a pledge that is very much about a party that is rebuilding from a low base in a political landscape more fractured than at any other time in modern British history. The speech though was not just about tax cuts. Ms Badenoch had a lot to get off her chest, dipping into several topic areas including the rise of racism, the need for more prison spaces in Britain’s overcrowded jails and dealing with Nigel Farage and Reform. There was a very clear message to Tory MPs who have been chuntering this week and before about the need to “unite the right” – the answer is “no!” Ms Badenoch launched a ferocious attack on Reform and its “dodgy donations”, suggesting that they are now “measuring the curtains” for prison cells not Downing Street. But her line, “for those people who say unite the right, I say not with them” is aimed at the many MPs and former MPs, especially on the right of the party who have been pushing for a deal with Reform. Most prominent has been Jacob Rees-Mogg but there have been others who have openly discussed it at conference. Ms Badenoch’s “we are the Conservative Party” is a message to them all that the Tories will not be shaking hands with Nigel Farage to secure a place in No 10. Overall though there was an important difference in tone with Andy Burnham who she mocked mercilessly from the stage. When the prime minister gave his speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool last week it was clear he was speaking to the activists in the room more than the audience watching outside. He even admitted as much in his speech. But Ms Badenoch is projecting her message to the audience outside promising a political fight and attacking a Labour government coming after you with higher taxes. The approaches represent the different needs of the two leaders. Mr Burnham needed to heal a wounded party after Keir Starmer’s ousting, while Ms Badenoch needs to persuade a country still sceptical of the Tories that they are worthy of governing again. But perhaps the biggest conclusion is that this is now Ms Badenoch’s party. She was comfortable, warm and confident on the stage with the audience responding to her almost as well as chairman Kevin Hollinrake’s labrador Zuzu. The Tory leader was able to emphasise her desire for real Conservatives to represent the party at the next election. And her viral moment of telling Wes Streeting “do your job” earlier this year was something she leaned into a lot in this speech. She listed out her shadow cabinet members who “did their job”, such as shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy forcing a Labour U-turn on jury trials, or shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins forcing a U-turn on the family farm tax. She has listed the qualities she wants in candidates standing at the next election, but number one is “people who know how to get stuff done, not just talk a good game”. Ms Badenoch knows that her party suffers from a sense among the public that they failed to do what they promised to do in government. She wants a change of culture and a return to one of aspiration. But with polling showing the Tories falling further behind in the polls, it remains to be seen whether it will it be enough to turn the party’s fortunes around. 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