7 h. ago Badenoch bounce! Kemi sees poll ratings surge as she is rewarded for bold Tory conference vow on stamp duty

Kemi Badenoch electrified the gathering in Manchester last week as she promised to use revenue from slashing spending and benefits to do away with stamp duty.

Events

19 h. ago Cocaine found at Tory party conference as investigators discover traces in the toilets

Just a week after traces of cocaine were found at a Labour Party conference event, a Daily Star Sunday investigation has discovered the Class-A drug in the toilets of the Tory conference in Manchester

Events

32 h. ago BRIAN READE: 'For their arrogance and shameless lying, Tories deserve to be in history's dustbin'

The Conservative Party Conference was almost pornographic with its passion for Margaret Thatcher, says Brian Reade, but clinging to the memory of a dead leader while in total denial of its disastrous recent past, speaks volumes

Politics

58 h. ago I saw desperation at the Tory conference – but all traditional parties may be in this position soon | Andy Beckett

The feeling of crisis in Manchester also afflicts Labour and the Lib Dems. It leaves voters facing a dangerously unstable political orderMuch of democratic politics is about getting people’s attention. That’s a particular problem for struggling, less-than-compelling leaders. The further your party falls in the polls, the larger the temptation to launch dramatic, supposedly transformational policies. It’s like speaking more and more loudly to someone who has stopped listening.Thus this week’s Conservative conference in Manchester, with the party at historic lows in the polls, featured a frenzy of policy announcements, on once-successful Tory themes such as tax cuts, law and order, welfare and immigration, that were often made to half-empty rooms. Expanses of blue carpet had been installed in the huge, barn-like convention centre – as if to reassure delegates that the party still had an identity – yet much of the time they were eerily deserted. The Conservatives, famed and feared for ...

Politics

3 d. ago Kemi Badenoch emphatically sees off Tory leadership rivals with stunning 'big bazooka' promise to abolish stamp duty and 'save Britain' from Starmer's doom loop

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch electrified her party's annual conference in Manchester by announcing plans for an audacious £9 billion tax cut funded by a crackdown on welfare and waste.

Politics

3 d. ago 3 major areas Kemi Badenoch says she'll fix which Tories broke in first place

Kemi Badenoch used her Tory conference speech to claim the Conservatives are the ones who can fix the key issues facing Britain. She'll be furious to find out who's really to blame

Politics

4 d. ago Badenoch vows to scrap stamp duty for primary homes in bid to free up housing market

Economists have welcomed the plans – but questions remain over how the party would pay for it

Politics

4 d. ago All the weirdest, scariest and embarrassing things we saw at Tory conference 2025

It's been a rough few days for Kemi Badenoch and co at the Tory Party Conference in Manchester - from botched merch, rows of empty seats and Robert Jenrick being a bit odd

Politics

4 d. ago LIZZY BUCHAN: Empty seats at Tory conference underline grim reality for troubled party

'Kemi Badenoch has probably bought herself some time with the Tory party - at least until the looming nightmare of the local elections in May. But was anyone else listening?'

Events

4 d. ago Tory plan to abolish stamp duty ‘will benefit London and the wealthiest the most’ – UK politics live

The Social Market Foundation thinktank says council tax reform and a property-based tax would be more sustainable and fairerVoting in the Labour deputy leadership election opens today. Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader, is seen as the favourite and, as Jessica Elgot reports, Powell told supporters yesterday that, if she is elected, she will use the post to argue for changes in the way the government is operating. “We can’t sugarcoat the fact that things aren’t going well,” she said.Powell is no longer a government minister and, if she is elected deputy leader, she will do the job from the backbenches. In an interview on Newsnight last night, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary standing against Powell, said a Powell victory would be “destabilising” for the party. She said:[Electing Powell] risks destabilising the party we best achieve what we need to do together when we have those fierce conversations, including disagreements, behind closed doors.Members need to understa...

Politics

4 d. ago Who is Kemi Badenoch's husband Hamish? Tory leader uses conference speech to thank 'Ham' as she tells party members she 'would not be standing here today' without him

In her keynote address to the Tory gathering in Manchester, Mrs Badenoch hailed the party as 'my family', adding this was 'in many ways quite literally'.

Politics

4 d. ago Kemi's support hits new heights! Moment 7ft 2in student and 'tallest Conservative in Britain' chats to Tory leader after she delivered conference speech

Photos show 22-year-old James McAlpine congratulating the Tory leader after she delivered a barnstorming speech to close the Conservative conference in Manchester.

Politics

4 d. ago Stamp duty, tractor tax and doctors’ strikes: Key takeaways from Badenoch’s Tory conference speech

The Independent looks at the key policies announced in Kemi Badenoch’s conference speech

Events

4 d. ago Badenoch vows to abolish stamp duty as she closes Tory conference

She pledged a ‘golden rule’ on her budget plans, spending only half of any savings made through spending cuts, with the rest to reduce the deficit.

Politics

4 d. ago Kemi Badenoch electrifies Tories with vow to ABOLISH stamp duty with cash raised by slashing benefits in  barnstorming first conference speech

Closing the Conservative conference in Manchester, Kemi Badenoch dropped the bombshell as she gave an impassioned response to fears the party is finished.

Events

4 d. ago Property industry welcomes Kemi Badenoch's "transformative" pledge to abolish stamp duty on homes

Tory leader tells Conservative conference "our housing market is not working as it should."

Society

4 d. ago Politics latest: Kemi Badenoch pledges to abolish stamp duty on all home sales in Tory conference speech

Conservative leader will try to win back support in face of discontent and mass defection of councillors to Reform

Politics

4 d. ago Tories would abolish stamp duty, Badenoch tells party conference – UK politics live

Party leader says measure is a ‘bad tax’ and scrapping it would free up the housing market and improve social mobilityVoting in the Labour deputy leadership election opens today. Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader, is seen as the favourite and, as Jessica Elgot reports, Powell told supporters yesterday that, if she is elected, she will use the post to argue for changes in the way the government is operating. “We can’t sugarcoat the fact that things aren’t going well,” she said.Powell is no longer a government minister and, if she is elected deputy leader, she will do the job from the backbenches. In an interview on Newsnight last night, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary standing against Powell, said a Powell victory would be “destabilising” for the party. She said:[Electing Powell] risks destabilising the party we best achieve what we need to do together when we have those fierce conversations, including disagreements, behind closed doors.Members need to understand tha...

Politics

4 d. ago Tories are only party that can meet ‘test of our generation’, says Badenoch

The Tory leader is delivering her closing address to the party conference.

Politics

4 d. ago Politics latest: Kemi Badenoch delivers keynote conference speech amid Tory coup speculation

Conservative leader will try to win back support in face of discontent and mass defection of councillors to Reform

Politics