General election announcements: as they happen

June 20: Almost 90% of savers want pension and savings review from next govt

Research from PensionBee found the policy, as promised in Labour’s manifesto, was supported by 92 per cent of those aged 35 to 44. 

Maintaining the abolition of the lifetime allowance was also favoured by 61 per cent of respondents. 

Meanwhile, the Conservatives’ ‘triple lock plus’ policy resonated with older voters with 65 per cent of over 55s aware of the policy and broadly understanding its aims. 

June 19: SNP pledges to deliver 'most progressive' income tax system

The Scottish National Party said it will deliver the “fairest and most progressive” income tax system in the UK, if elected.

SNP leader John Swinney said it was the only party to be arguing for an end to spending cuts.

He said: “The SNP manifesto argues for new, sensible fiscal rules that will end the cuts, reverse the £1.3bn cut to Scotland’s capital budget, and invest in public services, starting with the NHS.”

Amongst the proposals the party pledged to rejoin the EU and deliver Scottish independence.

June 17: Reform UK launches 'contract' pledging tax cuts

Nigel Farage alongside Richard Tice, chairman of Reform UK laid out their manifesto plans but emphasised the party would not win this general election.

Farage said: “This election is the first important step on our road to the next general election in 2029. Our current aim and ambition is to establish a bridgehead in parliament and become an opposition party to Labour.”

The party said within its first 100 days in government it would raise the income tax start point to £20,000 which it says will free up seven million people from paying the tax.

While also cutting residential stamp duty to 0 per cent below £750,000, 2 per cent from £750,000 to £1.5mn and 4 per cent for more than £1.5mn. 

June 13: Labour launches manifesto with pensions review and 'wealth creation' promise

The Labour Party has set out its manifesto promising a review of pensions to grow UK investment and prioritising 'wealth creation' with policies.

He said the party will make hard choices to restore the country's economy and public services. 

The leader reiterated promises not to increase national insurance, VAT or income tax.

"I make no apologies for ruling out tax rises for working people," said Starmer. 

"I don't believe it is fair when they are already paying this much, especially during a cost of living crisis."

Tax changes already announced, such as VAT on private school fees and closing loopholes in the non-dom tax status, were set out in the manifesto. 

June 12: The Green party manifesto: experts' verdict

The Green party’s pledge to introduce a ‘wealth tax’ on the country’s richest individuals will be both damaging and difficult to implement, according to experts. 

Rachael Griffin, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter, said the Greens' plans to introduce a “wealth tax” of 1 per cent annually on assets above £10mn and of 2 per cent on assets above £1bn might be popular amongst some.

However she warned the policy could have a damaging impact on the economy if investors are pushed to move their capital elsewhere.

“This could have significant repercussions, reducing investment incentives and potentially slowing economic growth. Similar to IHT, the prospect of being taxed twice is difficult to stomach for lots of people and there are always worries that a wealth tax is eventually levied on those with fewer assets if the economic climate dictates a higher tax take."

Greens launch manifesto with wealth tax and end of right-to-buy

The manifesto pledged to push for “major changes” to the tax system, aiming to simplify and align the rates of tax paid on income and investment gains, whatever their source, and to fairly tax excessive concentrations of wealth.

One such measure suggested by the Greens was a “wealth tax” of 1 per cent annually on assets above £10mn and of 2 per cent on assets above £1bn. 

The party argued that “only a tiny minority of people would pay this tax”.

The Greens also pledged to provide 150,000 new social homes every year through several different measures.

This included new build and the purchase/refurbishment of older housing stock, and a community right to buy for local authorities for several categories of property.

June 11: The Conservative manifesto: experts' verdict

The Conservative party’s manifesto shows it is chasing the ‘grey vote’, according to industry experts

Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, said pensions and pensioners were “central” to this general election.

The Conservative’s confirmed they would not only retain the state pension triple lock but go one step further with their triple lock plus plans. 

However, Cameron pointed out a number of pension developments didn’t get a mention including when enhancements to auto-enrolment might be advanced.

Sunak also announced he would look to abolish national insurance for the self-employed. 

Shaun Moore, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter, said the axing of the tax would present a “mixed bag of implications”.

Conservatives launch manifesto with NI and stamp duty cuts

The Conservatives have pledged to halve national insurance to 6 per cent by 2027 and scrap self-employed national insurance.

Rishi Sunak said the party’s national insurance tax costs are already worth £900 to the average worker and that, through the consistent cutting of taxes in the coming years, they will have halved NI to 6 per cent by 2027.

Sunak additionally pledged that, by the end of the next Parliament, the Conservatives will “scrap, entirely, the main rate of self-employed NI”.

Another measure was to abolish stamp duty for first time buyers purchasing a house up to £425,000.

He also promised to introduce a new form of help-to-buy to “get a new generation onto the property ladder”.

June 10: The Liberal Democrats manifesto: experts’ verdict

The Liberal Democrats manifesto has been described as “encouraging”, “very vague”, and “deeply disappointing” by industry experts.

The manifesto pledged to ensure that everyone can access housing that meets their needs. 

But Ray Boulger, senior mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, cast doubt on this pledge.

“The manifesto might be believable if it said something like ‘we will take action to help more people access suitable housing’."

Meanwhile, Quilter tax and financial planning expert, Rachel Griffin, argued the manifesto highlights some areas of policy that “badly need addressing”.

One area is social care with Griffin pointing out that the Lib Dems made a number of pledges to improve this area, such as increasing the carer’s allowance and expanding eligibility, as well as ending the postcode lottery of service provision.

Lib Dems launch manifesto with cut to income tax and CGT rise

The 114-page manifesto includes the party's priority for tax cuts, raising the tax-free personal allowance.

 "Our priority for tax cuts, when the public finances allow, will be to cut income tax by raising the tax-free personal allowance, benefitting the vast majority of families and taking more low-paid workers out of paying income tax altogether."

The Liberal Democrats also want to make changes to capital gains tax to fund investments in the NHS and social care, among other things.

On pensions, the manifesto said the party wants to see measures developed to end the gender pension gap in private pensions and ensure working-age carers can save properly for retirement.

Labour drops LTA reintroduction plans

The Labour Party will reportedly not include its pledge to reinstate the lifetime allowance in its manifesto, set to be published on Thursday (June 14).

According to FT Adviser’s sister publication, the Financial Times, Labour has dropped the proposal because it would add uncertainty and be complex to reintroduce.

June 7: Tories pledge child benefit tax changes for high earners

The Conservative party has said if re-elected it will increase the household income tax threshold for child benefit to £120,000.

Junior minister in the Department for Education, David Johnston, told Radio 4's Today programme: "The change in the budget was to increase the income threshold from £50,000 to £60,000, before people started paying this charge. 

"What we're doing now is saying a future Conservative government would then calculate this on a household basis, meaning income could be up to £120,000 before people start to pay this charge.

"It is to remedy the the thing that parents have often complained about, which is if you have two people who are just under the threshold, two people on £59,000, They won't pay the charge. But if you have one earner on £61,000 they will pay that charge. 

"The combined result of the change were proposing will mean around £700,000 families will get a tax cut of around £1,500 pounds." 

Freedom to Buy only helps FTBs who can afford bigger mortgage

The Labour Party has pledged to make the current government mortgage guarantee scheme permanent if it wins the general election, as part of its “Freedom to Buy” scheme.

The existing scheme, which is due to end on June 30 2025, allows mortgage lenders to purchase insurance against a portion of the losses they incur in the case of borrower default.

June 5: Starmer and Sunak clash on tax in general election TV debate

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer went head to head in their first TV debate of the election campaign.

Tax, immigration and the NHS were covered in the hour long debate, broadcast on ITV. 

The similarities between the plans of the two leaders was shown when the pair were asked by presenter Julie Etchingham to raise their hand if they would not raise income tax, raise national insurance and, other than Labour on private schools, raise VAT in the next parliament. 

Sunak claimed Labour's pledges would result in a £2,000 tax hike for all households. This was called "nonsense" by Starmer.

June 4: IFS would welcome return of reformed LTA

If Labour’s proposed reinstatement of the lifetime allowance was to go ahead, it would be “sensible” to go beyond just reintroducing it at its previous level, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the IFS and co-author of its briefing paper, said: "Rather than a simple knee jerk return to the system of two years ago, a new Labour chancellor would be well advised to implement a comprehensive and lasting reform which could rationalise, simplify and make fairer the current system of pension taxation whilst also raising revenue in the medium term. 

“The danger is that a reintroduced lifetime allowance ends up being just another bump in the pensions tax road, and another missed opportunity to rationalise the system with a coherent package of measures.”

Brokers call out Lib Dems for ‘stating the obvious to borrowers’

Research, conducted by the House of Commons Library Research after being commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, found 100,000 households will face a mortgage increase between now and polling day on July 4.

However, Michelle Lawson, director at Lawson Financial, said: “The Bank of England is supposedly independent so the colour in charge shouldn’t make a difference when it comes to interest rates.

“The Lib Dems appear to be trying to do what Rishi has done and claim full glory for bringing inflation down when it was the economy and markets that did that, in the same way that they sent inflation up.

“Unless people have been hiding under a stone for the past couple of years, they will already be bracing for higher mortgage rates.”

May 30: Mortgage brokers share policy wishes ahead of election

Mortgage brokers are hoping to see policy pledges to build houses, incentivise buyers, and promote the housing department during the election campaign.

“What has been lacking from government policy for the past five years is a coherent house building and buying incentive scheme,” said Mather and Murray Financial independent financial adviser, Samuel Mather-Hodge.

He added, above that, and something which has been missing for even longer, is a strategic housing policy that focuses on building millions of homes, mostly affordable, in the areas of demand.

May 29: What do advisers want from next govt?

Pensions, tax, regulation and financial education are just a few of the areas advisers want the next government to focus on. 

Jonathan Hives, chief executive of First Sentinel Wealth, felt there was some mystery around how pension members and pensioners will be treated if Labour come into power. 

He said: “Labour have committed to bringing back the LTA, it is quite extraordinary how one government can remove such a significant bit of legislation, and a rival party brings it back months later. 

“Is it even possible for Labour to bring it back so quickly? I am not sure how they intend to navigate those complexities.

Whereas, Lisa Meller, founder of the Personal Finance Movement, would like the next government to review tax allowances which have been “significantly” reduced this tax year.

May 28: Shadow chancellor refuses to commit to tax cuts if elected

In a speech delivered in a Rolls Royce factory today (May 28) Reeves refused to say whether an incoming Labour government would cut taxes. 

Reeves continuously repeated that although she wanted taxes to be lower she reiterated that Labour would not announce any cuts without knowing where the money would be coming from to fund them. 

Tories pledge 'triple lock plus' tax cut for pensioners

The Conservative Party has promised to raise the personal allowance for pensioners via a 'triple lock plus' if they win July's general election.

In an announcement on Monday night, prime minister Rishi Sunak said as part of the plans the personal allowance for pensioners will increase by either 2.5 per cent, in line with average earnings or inflation - whichever is higher. 

May 24: Renters reform bill shelved 

The Conservative’s flagship bill to ban landlords from evicting tenants without a reason has been dropped ahead of parliament being prorogued.

In an update for MPs on May 23, leader of the house Penny Mordaunt did not include the bill among the legislation that will be debated before the proroguing. 

The bill was passed through parliament in April, but no specific timeline was given as to when it would become law. 

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “There has been too much dither and delay in government, and a failure to be clear about how to ensure changes would work in practice. Critically, the market now faces yet more crippling uncertainty about what the future of the private rented sector looks like."

May 24: Trade body calls for urgent reform of financial regulation

The Association of Investment Companies has urged whichever government gets into power to reform UK financial services regulation. 

Richard Stone, chief executive of the AIC, said: “Accurate and meaningful disclosure of costs is critical to a properly functioning market where investors can make well informed decisions.

"Priips, Mifid, and the AIFMD are just three examples. There is cross-party support for the principle that the government sets the boundaries for regulation and the regulator then sets the rules. There is an urgent need for the incoming government to press on at pace with the transfer of rule-making in these areas to the FCA.”

May 23: What might a Labour government mean for your money?

Our sister title Investors' Chronicle has kindly put its 2024 election coverage in front of the paywall to allow FT Adviser to share it with readers.

Here, personal finance reporter Val Cipriani explores what a Labour government would mean for your (and your clients') money.  

May 22: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces date of general election

All parties will need to set out their personal finance priorities which could include changes to pensions rules and may see some promised long-awaited reforms such as changes to auto-enrolment.

The UK could also see impacts to mortgage rates and investments as well as simplification of the Isa landscape. FT Adviser looks at what changes could come as a result of the election.