Kemi challenges Chancellor to follow Tories lead and axe Stamp Duty at the Budget after new polling reveals widespread support forscrapping the tax

Kemi Badenoch has called on Rachel Reeves to follow the Conservatives’ lead by scrapping stamp duty in the Budget.

The Conservative Party is proposing to end primary home charges, which account for a £4.5bn tax cut paid for by cutting the benefits bill.

According to the party’s research, more than two-thirds of homeowners and potential buyers say stamp duty is an unfair tax.

Almost half of Britons say this is a barrier to buying or selling a home; 2.8 million people are willing to consider downsizing by 2030 if the tax is removed or cut.

One in five people see stamp duty as the biggest financial obstacle to owning a home. The research also found that 77 per cent of buyers would use the savings from stamp duty removal to finance renovations.

It is estimated that removing the tax would be worth £1.2bn to local economies as the housing market rebounds.

Ms Badenoch said stamp duty ‘punishes people for doing the right thing – working hard, saving lots and wanting a place to call home’.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘Stamp duty is trapping people and strangling the housing market. It keeps elderly owners in homes that are too big and too costly. It prevents young families from finding the space they need. And for those looking to buy their first home, this is another obstacle, in addition to the very high deposit and fees.

Standing alongside husband Hamish, Mrs Badenoch said abolishing Stamp Duty would mean first-time shoppers, growing families and retirees looking to downsize would no longer be ‘penalized’ by the tax

‘Removing stamp duty would unlock the housing market overnight, reward hard work and provide a huge boost to local tradesmen.

‘Rachel Reeves should listen to the public, steal our savings plan and remove stamp duty from her budget.’

Shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly said: ‘Stamp Duty is a bad tax. This is an anti-aspiration tax. It’s an unfair tax. So we’re going to eliminate it.

‘People should be supported, not hindered, when they want to buy a home and put down roots in their community.’

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride added: ‘Stamp duty is one of the most damaging taxes in Britain. It punishes ambition, inhibits mobility and stifles growth.

‘Removing this will unlock opportunities, unlock homes and strengthen our economy from the inside out.’

A Government spokesman said: ‘For too long buying a house has been a nightmare. We’re ending this chaos with the biggest home buying shake-up in UK history – shaving weeks off the process and saving first-time home buyers an average of £710.

‘This is on top of the £39bn of new investment we will be making over the next decade to deliver the biggest increase in affordable and social housing in a generation.

‘Stamp duty raised around £12 billion last year, going towards protecting our public services, investing in our economy and delivering our national regeneration plan.’