Today, the Conservative party have announced their manifesto with Rishi Sunak stating their pledges for their time in parliament if they are voted in on July 4th.

 

The pledges which could affect you

 

If you're planning to buy a home

  • Reviving the Help to Buy scheme for first time buyers. The government will support buyers with a equity loan of up to 20% towards the cost of a new home. Trying to get onto the property market has become a great challenge so the help to buy scheme should help more people struggling to afford the deposit start the process.

 

  • The threshold for stamp duty will be risen so that first time buyers will not have to pay unless the property costs more than £425,000. This means that 8 in 10 first time buyers would not pay stamp duty according to Zoopla. Stamp Duty is a payable tax when you buy property.

 

If you are a pensioner or will be retiring soon

  • Implementing the Triple lock plus for pensioners to ensure they do not have to pay income tax. The state pension has been rising with inflation for pensioners to have a healthy income, as this rises it has become dangerously close to the income tax threshold. This Triple Lock Plus means that the state pension with rise alongside the tax free threshold for pensioners.

 

For your healthcare

  • Investing more into better healthcare facilities and building 40 new hospitals by 2030 to improve care for patients. The Conservatives NHS productivity plan aims to see productivity grow by 1.9% a year from 2025-26 which will unlock £35 billion in savings by the end of the decade. The NHS improvements remain on each manifesto and with 40 new hospital promised to be built, will the staff, training and investment come with it?

 

If you are young and planning your next steps

  • Cut funding for ‘rip-off’ degrees and use this money to fund 100,000 high-quality apprenticeships. This fits into their plan to raise productivity and efficiency during their parliament as seen by their pledge for National service for 18 year olds. The conservative claim they are securing the future for young people, how do young people feel about their options?

 

Paying taxes

  • The Conservative have emphasised their plans to cut taxes this parliament, partly playing against Labour. They have pledged to cut National Insurance by 2p by April 2027 and abolish completely for self-employed. There are 4m self employed people in the UK with the number constantly growing, the conservative are aiming to please large target groups. The aim to cater to working people and the strain of finances through cutting taxes. This pledge means National Insurance will reach 6% by 2027, a tax cut of £1,350 for the average worker on £35,000 according the Conservative Manifesto.

 

  • Cutting National Insurance will cost £2.6bn a year but the Sunak has stated their plans to bring the money from clamping down on tax avoidance which would raise £6bn as well as from lower welfare payments which should raise £12bn.

 

The Conservative manifesto lay priority on cutting taxes, improving investment which continues their economic trend of using trickle-down economics, in which cutting businesses and income taxes could see results in a greater economy for the UK.