Cameron sets out his vision of the Tory dream
Cameron vow to ease death taxes and help nation’s savers
DAVID Cameron has promised to bring back the ‘good life’ for the British public – by helping them to become homeowners, cutting taxes and lifting all but millionaires out of paying inheritance tax.
His latest manifesto pledge of a £1million threshold before estates become eligible for the death duties aims to help tens of thousands of people each year.
Mr Cameron said the Tories want to create a country ‘where young people can make the most of their potential, where you get up early and do a shift and know it’s worth your while, where those who put in, contribute, and make this country what it is are rewarded for their efforts’.
His vision of the Conservative dream came as an opinion poll showed the party edging back in front on 36 per cent, ahead of Labour on 34 per cent. Responding to criticism of the Tory campaign as lacking passion, Mr Cameron insisted that the party’s long-term economic plan was not designed to ‘tick a box’ but to ‘build a better country’.
DAVID Cameron set out a vision of the ‘Conservative dream’ yesterday as a pledge to lift everyone except millionaires out of inheritance tax energised his party’s election campaign.
He said labour ‘just don’t get or respect’ the instincts of millions of working people to get ‘a promotion, a new car or bigger home and pass something on to their children’.
By contrast, the Conservatives ‘see someone working hard to build a good life and we say – we’ll cut your taxes; see savers who have made sacrifices and say – we’ll let you pass that on’.
Responding to criticism of the Tory campaign as lacking passion, the Prime Minister insisted the party’s long-term economic plan was not designed to ‘tick a box’ but to ‘build a better country, one where hard work is rewarded’.
Making the most significant announce-
‘Hard work is rewarded’
ment of the campaign so far, he confirmed a Conservative government would lift tens of thousands of estates out of death duties. He insisted raising the threshold to £1million would support the ‘most basic, human and natural instinct’ of parents to pass something on to their families when they die.
Mr Cameron, speaking in Cheltenham, said: ‘look at the level that inheritance tax is currently set at: £325,000 per individual. Do you know how many homes in our country fall above that amount? Almost a quarter of them. I wouldn’t describe a quarter of the people in our country as super rich.’
He added that the Tories wanted to create a country ‘where young people can make the most of their potential, where you get up early and do a shift and know it’s worth your while, where those who put in, contribute, and make this country what it is are rewarded for their efforts’.
‘Where a strong economy means good jobs, worthwhile careers – and excellent public services like hospitals and schools that are there for you and your family. This is the Conservative dream.’
This week’s manifesto will promise to create a £1million limit for inheritance tax, currently levied at 40 per cent, paid for by cuts to pension tax relief for people earning £150,000 or more.
Under current rules, the tax is charged on estates worth more than £325,000, rising to £650,000 for married couples – introduced by labour after the Tories proposed raising the threshold before the last election.
lib Dem minister David laws yesterday questioned whether the Tories would make the issue a ‘red line’ in a second coalition.
‘In 2010 when I sat in negotiation with the Conservative party, the Conservatives dropped this policy like a stone,’ he told Sky News’s Murnaghan programme.
labour said such a reform as something that would help those at ‘the very top’. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the proposed new rules would disproportionately benefit families with higher incomes.
However, Tory strategists are confident the proposal will prove highly popular. One recent survey found that raising the inheritance tax threshold to £1million is supported by 65 per cent of people.
Meanwhile, a poll yesterday suggested the Tories have gained a twopoint lead over labour – 36 per cent to 34 per cent. The Opinium poll for the Observer also suggested ed Miliband’s approval rating has slipped.