Conservatives launch plan to cut tax for workers, pensioners and parents

The Prime Minister has announced the Conservatives' transformational plan to drive down taxes for workers, parents and pensioners, as Labour threaten households with £2,094 extra in tax.   

In a suite of tax cuts worth £17.2 billion a year by the end of the decade, the Conservatives will put more money in the pockets of hard-working people, spur investment, boost small businesses, revitalise the property market, help first-time buyers get on the property ladder and protect pensioners' financial security.   

Key tax pledges include:   

• Total abolition of the main rate of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for self-employed in transformational boost to the economy and enterprise    
• Further 2p cut to payroll NICs by 2027, so we will have halved it from the beginning of this year, putting more money in the pockets of hard-working people     
• Triple Lock Plus confirmed to protect pensioners from Labour's Retirement Tax    
• A tax cut for parents by ending the single earner penalty in the High Income Child Benefit Charge and moving the threshold to £120,000, up from £60,000 currently. 
• Stamp duty cut to revitalise property market and help young people get on the housing ladder   
• Temporary capital gains tax relief for landlords selling to a tenant to help people buy their first home  

The manifesto also confirms the Conservatives' commitment to spend 2.5 percent on defence – a historic pledge to boost our national security unmet by Labour – as well as a new cap on migration to bring numbers down, the introduction of National Service to boost national resilience, 8,000 more police officers to keep our streets safe and a tough new 25-year prison term for domestic murder as part of our plan to make sure the worst offenders stay behind bars for longer.   

Further bold action includes:   

• A new and improved Help to Buy scheme Pledge to help young people get on the property ladder  
• Pledge to deliver 1.6 million homes over the next Parliament with a new plan to speed up infrastructure in the right places while protecting our precious green spaces   
• Historic commitment to spend 2.5 percent of GDP on defence confirmed, a new target to become the largest defence exporter in Europe by 2030 and a new strict national interest test to foreign aid   
• New National Service to give young people the skills they need to succeed and unify society in an increasingly unstable and uncertain world   
• Commitment to get first flight off to Rwanda in July, a new legal migration cap to curb numbers and a pledge to work with leaders to reform international law for the new age of mass migration   
• 8,000 new police officers, the introduction of a 25-year prison term for domestic murders and launch a review of homicide sentencing to ensure killers are getting the tough, long sentences they deserve.    
• 100,000 new apprenticeships funded by cracking down on poor quality degrees.   

Speaking at the launch, Rishi Sunak said:  

 “This manifesto is our clear plan for our United Kingdom. It is about the bold actions we will take to deliver that secure future…   

“We are the only party in this election with the big ideas to make our country a better place to live… 

“Keir Starmer is asking you to hand him a blank cheque, when he hasn't said what he'll buy with it or how much it's going to cost you.  

“Just think about what Labour would mean. Higher taxes for every working household, can you afford two thousand pounds more in taxes? French style labour laws that will lead to French levels of unemployment and a French frequency of strikes. A ballooning welfare bill. Higher immigration and more Net Zero costs....   

“Keir Starmer will use that blank cheque to change the rules of the game, to his benefit....  So if you don't know what Labour will do, don't vote for it. If you're concerned about what Starmer isn't telling you, don't vote for him. And if you're worried about what Labour's £2,094 of tax rises would mean for your family's financial security, don't vote for them.   

“We Conservatives will always stand for our values: for aspiration, for freedom, for opportunity, for security. Your Conservative MP will deliver lower taxes, lower immigration, protected pensions and a sensible and pragmatic approach to Net Zero.   

“Our country needs a secure future. This country wants a clear plan and bold action and it is this Conservative manifesto that will deliver it.” 

NOTES TO EDITORS  

• The manifesto is available here.

• Accessible versions of the manifesto will be made available ahead of polling day.

• All pledges in this manifesto are funded and costings are available here. 

Supporting working people and secure a stronger economy by:   

• Cutting taxes for working people. We will cut tax for 27 million workers by taking 1p off employees NICs next April and another 1p off in April 2027. So we will have halved it from 12 per cent at the beginning of this year to 6 per cent by April 2027, a total tax cut of £1,350 for the average worker on £35,000 – and the next step in our long-term ambition to end the double tax on work when financial conditions allow.  

• Cutting taxes for the self-employed. We will cut taxes to support the self-employed by abolishing the main rate of self-employed National Insurance entirely by the end of the Parliament. 

• Cutting taxes for pensioners. We will cut tax for pensioners with the new Triple Lock Plus, guaranteeing that both the State Pension and the tax free allowance for pensioners always rise with the highest of inflation, earnings or 2.5 per cent – so the new State Pension doesn't get dragged into income tax. 

• Rolling out the biggest ever expansion of childcare. We will give working parents 30 hours of free childcare a week from when their child is nine months old to when they start school, saving eligible families an average of £6,900 per year. 

• Cutting taxes for parents. We will end the unfairness in Child Benefit by moving to a household system, so families don't start losing Child Benefit until their combined income reaches £120,000 – saving the average family which benefits £1,500. 

• Taking a practical approach to reaching net zero. We are cutting the cost of net zero for consumers by taking a more pragmatic approach, guaranteeing no new green levies or charges while accelerating the rollout of renewables. 

• Seizing the benefits of Brexit. We are seizing the benefits of Brexit by signing further trade deals, speeding up infrastructure and unblocking 100,000 homes, cutting red tape for business, and creating new fishing opportunities. 

Providing young people with a secure future by:     

• Creating new opportunities for young people whilst delivering a renewed sense of pride in our country. We will give young people the skills and opportunities they deserve by introducing mandatory National Service for all school leavers at 18, with the choice between a competitive placement in the military or civic service roles. 

• Delivering 100,000 new high-quality apprenticeships. We will fund 100,000 high-quality apprenticeships for young people, paid for by curbing the number of poor-quality university degrees that leave young people worse off. 

• Protecting children's learning. We will protect children by requiring schools to ban the use of mobile phones during the school day and ensuring parents can see what their children are being taught, especially on sensitive matters like sex education. 

• Transforming 16-19 education. We will transform 16-19 education by introducing the Advanced British Standard, enabling young people to receive a broader education and removing the artificial divide between academic and technical learning. 

Safeguarding our borders and national security by:  

• Boosting defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP. We will Boost defence spending to our new NATO standard of 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, so we can protect British interests at home and abroad in an increasingly hostile world. 

• Setting a legal cap on migration. We will introduce a legal cap on migration to guarantee that numbers will fall every year, so public services are protected while bringing in the skills our businesses and NHS needs. 

• Stopping the boats. We will remove illegal migrants to Rwanda and work with other countries to rewrite asylum treaties to make them fit for the challenges we face. 

Strengthening our communities by:  

• Boosting NHS spending and recruiting more staff. We will increase NHS spending above inflation every year, recruiting 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors, driving up productivity in the NHS and moving care closer to people's homes through Pharmacy First, new and modernised GP surgeries and more Community Diagnostic Centres. 

• Protecting women's safety. We will protect female-only spaces and competitiveness in sport by making clear that sex means biological sex in the Equality Act. 

• Building 1.6 million homes. We will deliver 1.6 million well-designed homes in the right places while protecting our countryside, permanently abolish Stamp Duty for homes up to £425,000 for first time buyers and introduce a new Help to Buy scheme. 

• Recruiting 8,000 new police officers. We will recruit 8,000 more full-time, fully warranted police officers to ensure a new police officer for every neighbourhood. 

• Clamping down on anti-social behaviour. We will cut anti-social behaviour in town centres by rolling out Hotspot Policing, expanding community payback and legislating to evict social tenants who repeatedly disrupt their neighbours. 

• Investing £36 billion in more transport projects. We are investing £36 billion in local roads, rail and buses to drive regional growth, including £8.3 billion to fill potholes and resurface roads, funded by cancelling the second phase of HS2. 

• Ending Labour's war on motorists. Back drivers by stopping road pricing, reversing the London Mayor's ULEZ expansion and applying local referendums to new 20mph zones and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. 

• Backing rural communities. We will champion rural communities by backing farmers with a legal target and additional investment for food security and protecting our best agricultural land from solar farms. 

• Strengthening our Union. Continue to directly invest in communities across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, protect the UK's internal market and the integrity of our United Kingdom.  

Labour's plan 

• Analysis of Labour's spending plans show Labour have a black hole of £38.5 billion – the equivalent of £2,094 in taxes on working families. Using both official HM Treasury Costings, HMG figures and Labour's own numbers, and a publicly quoted investment bank; analysis shows that Labour have a £38.5 billion blackhole over the next four years equivalent to £2,094 in extra taxes for working families (The Conservative Party, Labour's tax rises, 17 May 2024; HM Treasury, Opposition Costings, 17 May 2024, link).