Tory leader slams Labour over property tax reports – ‘people are very worried’

PEOPLE are anxious about reports claiming that the government is planning to impose new taxes on the sale of property, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said.

Speaking on GB News, she said: “I’ve just been speaking to a group of people here in Surrey who are actually very, very worried about the cost of living. They are worried that taxes are going up yet again and they can’t afford it.

“And all of this is happening because Labour have allowed a summer of speculation about what taxes are going to go up. The Treasury has been saying some things but not denying other things, and people believe that their properties are going to be taxed.

“Well, taxes are a word that Labour uses, but actually what it usually means is people’s properties, people’s businesses, their family homes. It makes it harder to own your own home, to buy your first home, and Conservatives will oppose them every step of the way.”

Kemi Badenoch GB News 1:9.jpeg

In a discussion with Andrew Pierce and Miriam Cates, she said the Conservatives would force a vote in the House of Commons aimed at preventing new taxes being levied on property sales.

Badenoch said: “We need the government to be honest with people. They have been making a lot of noise about black holes. The truth is, they’re the ones who created a black hole with their Budget.

“Last year they taxed businesses who have shed loads of jobs. Unemployment has been rising every single month since Labour came into power. The economy is doing really badly under them, and now they’re coming back for more.

“So we need them to be honest, and that is what the vote on Wednesday is about. Labor telling us exactly what it is they’re going to do, but we’re the only party that will defend home ownership.”

Asked if the Tories bear some responsibility for the state of the government’s finances, she said: “There was a budget deficit, but we had a plan to bring it down. We brought the deficit down every single year until Covid, and we were ready to bring it down again.

“What we need to do is cut spending and live within our means. You will remember a couple of months ago we had a welfare bill that was supposed to cut spending, and what did Labour do? They voted to increase spending.

“They do not have the stomach to do what the country needs. We need to live within our means. The rider is getting bigger than the horse, and the Labour Party only wants to spend more, and Reform are joining them in wanting to increase benefits.

“We’re the only party that wants to live within our means and get our economy back on track.”

She added: “Basically, what Labour are doing is taxing the very people who are working hard, bringing in the wealth and prosperity of our country. What they should be doing is getting more people back into work. They don’t know how to do that.

“As we saw with the family farms tax, which has been absolutely disastrous for farming in this country, they are taxing what are assets, not income. Many people have assets, but they don’t have income. And then when these taxes come in, they’re actually forced to sell their properties.

“And then they want to increase Capital Gains Tax, which is one of the things they have not denied. It is all a big mess, and they are creating even more and more problems, a tax doom loop, because they borrow more, then they have to tax more.

“Then businesses close, and then they go round and round and round again in circles. That needs to come to an end. It’s time for us to cut spending.”