Overview
- The Conservative leader’s conference pledge would remove stamp duty only on main residences, leaving charges in place for second homes and buy-to-lets.
- Independent analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies puts the near‑term cost at about £4.5bn, while Conservatives cite up to £9bn after expected fiscal drag; stamp duty raised roughly £13.9bn last year.
- The party says it would fund the move from £47bn of spending cuts across welfare, overseas aid and the civil service, a plan economists and opposition figures cast as unrealistic.
- Property industry groups and some economists welcomed scrapping a tax seen as a brake on mobility, but warned it could lift prices without supply-side housing reforms and may benefit wealthier homeowners most.
- The announcement increases pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of the November Budget, with a YouGov poll reporting about 63% public support and reports that the Treasury is considering wider property‑tax changes.