Election day: a recap of manifesto pledges

Conservatives 

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

Sunak said in his manifesto launch 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.

“That is a tax cut worth £1,300 to the average worker,” he explained.

He planned to fund these cuts by controlling the “unsustainable rise” in working age welfare that has taken off since the pandemic.

The party also introduced its triple lock plus policy aimed at pensioners which would see the personal allowance for pensioners increase by either 2.5 per cent, in line with average earnings or inflation - whichever is higher

Sunak also pledged to abolish stamp duty for first time buyers for properties costing up to £425,000.

As well as introducing a new form of help-to-buy to “get a new generation onto the property ladder”.

Support for renters was also present in the party’s manifesto as the Tories pledged to “fully abolish” no fault eviction notices for renters.

Labour 

The Labour party pledged that ‘wealth creation’ would be a top priority stating that its plans for growth included investment and reform rather than more taxes.

Policies included a review of the pensions landscape and increased investment from pension funds in UK markets.

Keir Starmer also pledged not to increase national insurance, VAT or income tax.

Changes to tax policy included VAT on private school fees and closing loopholes in the non-dom tax status.

Starmer also said a national wealth fund would be created, with one example investment given as gigafactories associated with electrification and decarbonisation.

Lib Dems

The Liberal Democrats pledged to cut income tax by raising the tax-free personal allowance.

It said the party would put health and care at the heart of its manifesto, saying the NHS and care in the UK were in crisis.

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

The party said it would "fairly reform" capital gains tax to close loopholes which it said were exploited by the super wealthy.

It also wanted to see changes to tax on big banks and introduce a 4 per cent tax on the share buyback schemes of FTSE 100 listed companies.

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

Green Party 

The Green Party pledged to introduce a “wealth tax on the very richest people” which would see a tax of 1 per cent annually on assets above £10mn and of 2 per cent on assets above £1bn.

The party also pledged to reform capital gains tax to align the rates paid by taxpayers on income and taxable gains. 

It argued this measure would affect less than 2 per cent of all income taxpayers.

As a result of these and other tax changes, the party estimated that additional revenue of between £50-70bn per year could be raised by the end of the next Parliament.

Additional policies included providing 150,000 new social homes every year comprising new build and the purchase/refurbishment of older housing stock, and a community right to buy for local authorities for several categories of property.

The party also stated that it would end the individual ‘right to buy’ scheme which would allow social homes to be kept for local communities “in perpetuity”.

Reform 

Reform UK pledged to raise the income tax start point to £20,000 which it said would 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. 

On inheritance tax, Nigel Farage said the current framework was “never designed for people in the middle” but for those on the “upper income scale”.

Therefore the party pledged to abolish IHT for all estates under £2mn, with the rate above £2mn being 20 per cent tax.

After the first 100 days, the party also planned to simplify the tax system, stating that the current UK’s tax code was a ‘burden’.

Farage explained that economic growth came from small and medium sized businesses, hence why the party plans to free more than 1.2mn SMEs from corporation tax.

Reform UK also pledged to abolish IR35 rules to support sole traders while also lifting the VAT threshold to £150,000.

On pensions, the party said it would review pension provision stating that the current system is “riddled with complexity, huge cost and poor returns leading to less uptake.” 

In terms of social care it said it would commence a royal commission of inquiry into the social care system as well as simplifying the system through a single funding stream.

alina.khan@ft.com