Kemi Badenoch rules out Reform deal and pledges inheritance tax cut

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has ruled out any deal with Reform UK and used the party's conference in Birmingham to promise a tax cut on family homes.

In her closing speech, Badenoch rejected calls from within her own party to unite the right. She said she would rather have another general election than strike a deal with Reform if a vote produced a hung parliament. She pointed to 1974, when two elections were held, and said the public would see who was serious. She also accused Reform of being neck-deep in scandal, saying the party would bring one problem after another.

The attack on Reform was personal and direct. Badenoch said Reform MPs question people's identity and that they are not like us. She said she did not want to explain to her son that some people do not think black England players are English. She described herself as black, British and proud of her country. She mocked Reform figures, referring to an export boom of drama queens and saying some former Conservative figures were now measuring up curtains for prison cells. She also said she did not want to live in a country run by people who threaten journalists.

On policy, Badenoch announced that a Conservative government would exempt the family home from inheritance tax. Couples would also get an extra £1 million inheritance tax-free allowance. The party said this would amount to a £6 billion tax cut. She repeated pledges to scrap stamp duty and to block a mansion tax. In a separate interview, she said she would cut employer National Insurance for 21 to 24 year olds to tackle youth unemployment, adapting an earlier first jobs bonus. She said the party would find savings before spending and would be fiscally credible.

The conference came as the Conservatives remain behind Reform in many opinion polls. Badenoch admitted the party would not win a snap election outright if one were called now, and said polling suggested a hung parliament. She argued that Britain is in a multi-party era and that the Conservatives are the only credible alternative to Labour. Her speech was billed around the slogan battle for the soul of the nation and the idea of the right way. Aides said she would promise that for every pound saved, 50 pence would go towards cutting the deficit.

Some delegates backed her refusal to deal with Reform. Others said the right would eventually have to come together or lose to the left. Opponents said the inheritance tax plan would help a wealthy minority and that the numbers did not add up. Reform UK published an internal report that it said exonerated two officials suspended over allegations about donations, while police continue to investigate. Badenoch used the row to argue that Reform is not fit for government.

The speech was designed to draw clear dividing lines before the next election. Badenoch presented the Conservatives as the party of lower taxes, smaller government and fiscal discipline, in contrast with Labour and Andy Burnham, whom she accused of promising more government and higher costs. She also introduced Dr Sanjoy Kumar, the father of Grace O'Malley Kumar, who was murdered in Nottingham, as she argued that institutions had failed families and needed to be accountable.

Overall, the conference gave Badenoch a chance to assert control of her party and to set out a tax-cutting offer. But the Conservatives still face the central challenge of winning back voters who have moved to Reform, while her refusal to work with Reform will be tested if the next election produces no majority.