14 Jun 2024

Election 2024: what would the Conservatives' plans mean for your money?

Conservatives announce pledges to cut NI and increase the personal allowance for pensioners

The Conservative Party ' has launched its manifesto ahead of the 2024 general election, which will be held on 4 July.

The manifesto sets out policies the party (officially named 'the Conservative and Unionist Party) aims to bring in should it win the election.

Here, we provide an at-a-glance look at the Conservatives' plans for tax, pensions, property and all things money-related that could hit your wallet.

We've covered the key money pledges in the Labour and Liberal Democrat and Scottish National Party manifestos in separate stories.

You can also find key information from the Green Party, Plaid Cymru, Reform UK and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) manifestos in our story on manifestos from smaller parties.

Tax

Cut the main rate of Class 1 employee National Insurance (NI) contributions by 2p, taking it to 6% by April 2027.
Scrap the main rate of Class 4 NI contributions paid by self-employed workers, currently 6%, within the next five years. This would not impact entitlement for the state pension.
No increases to the rates of income tax, NI, VAT, corporation tax or capital gains tax.
Keep windfall tax on oil and gas companies in place until 2028-29, unless prices fall back to normal sooner.
Raise at least a further £6bn a year from tackling tax avoidance and evasion by the end of the Parliament.

Find out more: use the Which? tax guides and calculators to find out your current position

Housing

First-time buyers

Abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers when purchasing homes up to £425,000. The threshold was raised from £300,000 to £425,000 in September 2022, but this is due to expire on 31 March 2025. Stamp duty is a tax currently paid by those purchasing a property in England and Northern Ireland.
Introduce a new Help to Buy scheme where first-time buyers can get an equity loan of up to 20% towards the cost of a new-build home.
Build 1.6m new homes in England in the next parliament.

Home owners

Not increase the number of council tax bands, re-evaluate council tax or cut council tax discounts.
Maintain Private Residence Relief so that people’s homes are protected from capital gains tax.
Not increase stamp duty thresholds or rates.
Complete leasehold reforms, with ground rents capped at £250.
A two-year scheme where landlords who sell to their tenants won’t need to pay capital gains tax.

Renters

Pass a Renters Reform Bill that will fully abolish Section 21 and strengthen other grounds for landlords to evict private tenants guilty of anti-social behaviour.
Implement a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ expectation of social housing landlords for anti-social behaviour.

Social housing

Legislate for new ‘Local Connection’ and ‘UK Connection’ tests for social housing in England, to ensure resource is allocated fairly.
Continue with plans to end rough sleeping and prevent people from ending up on the streets.

Give local authorities a multi-year funding settlement to support social care at the next spending review.
Implement planned reforms to cap social care costs from October 2025.
Bring forward the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, first outlined in the Spring Budget.
Legislate to restrict the advertising of products high in fat, salt and sugar.

Pensions and investments

Introducing ‘Triple Lock Plus’. This would guarantee that the state pension and the personal tax allowance for pensioners always rises by at least 2.5%, inflation or average earnings, whichever is higher.
No new taxes on pensions. Maintain the 25% lump sum you can take at retirement age tax-free, and maintain tax relief on pension contributions at the marginal rate.
Maintain current pension benefits including free bus passes, the Winter Fuel Payment, free prescriptions and TV licences.
Carefully consider the Ombudsman report into WASPI women and will work with Parliament to provide an appropriate and swift response.

Benefits

Change child benefit rules so families will not lose the benefit until their combined income reaches £120,000. Currently, parents must pay some of it back once either of them earns more than £60,000. If either parents earn over £80,000, it must be paid back in its entirety.
Overhaul the benefit system by reforming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments to provide a more ‘objective consideration’ of people’s needs and stop the number of claims rising.
‘Tighten up’ how the benefits system assesses capability for work, and overhaul fit note process.
Introduce tougher sanctions for those who refuse to take up suitable jobs after 12 months on benefits.
Accelerate the rollout of Universal Credit to ensure it always pays to work
Introduce a new Fraud Bill to give the Department for Work and Pensions new powers to identify and investigate benefit fraud.

Find out more: use our child benefit calculator to to find out your current position

Banking and scams

Have legislated to require banks and building societies considering closing a branch to consider the needs of all their customers and ensure they continue to have appropriate access to cash in their local community.
Have announced over 100 Banking Hubs which enable customers to access free to use cash and everyday banking services.
Ban SIM farms, which are used to send bulk messages for fraudulent texts.
Ban cold calls on financial products, so fraudsters cannot dupe people into buying fake investments.

Household bills

Set to achieve at least 85% gigabit coverage of the UK by 2025 and nationwide coverage by 2030.
No new green levies or charges.
Maintain the energy price cap.
Review and reform standing charges.
Delivery ‘Pumpwatch’ scheme, where petrol retailers share live information on prices.
Give households the choice of smart energy tariffs.
Hold water companies to account, including banning executive bonuses if a company has committed a serious financial breach. Use fines from water companies to invest in river restoration projects.
Extend the £50 water rebate for those in the South West.

Find out more: 10 ways to save on energy bills

Transport

Extend the £2 bus fare cap in England.
Invest £36bn in local roads, rail and buses, including £8.3bn to fill potholes and resurface roads, funded by cancelling the second phase of HS2.
Scrap ULEZ expansion in London.
Not introduce pay-per-mile road pricing and ban mayors and local councils from doing so.
Roll out mobile pay-as-you-go contactless train tickets nationwide.
Roll out the National Parking Platform this year to simplify how people pay for parking.

Find out more: 7 ways to save on transport costs in 2024

Jobs and pay

New teachers in priority areas and key STEM and technical subjects will receive bonuses of up to £30,000 tax-free over five years, from Spetember.
Maintain the National Living Wage each year at two thirds of median earnings. Current forecasts mean it would rise to around £13 per hour.
Increase the salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas by 48% to £38,700. Ensure those sponsoring dependants can support them financially by raising the minimum income for family visas to £38,700.

Childcare and education

New teachers in priority areas and key STEM and technical subjects will receive bonuses of up to £30,000 tax-free over five years, from Spetember.
Put guidance in place banning mobile phones in the school day.
Give working parents 30 free hours of childcare a week from when their child is nine-months-old to when they start school from September 2025.
Mandatory national service for 18-year-olds. This would require teenagers to choose between taking a 12-month placement in the armed forces or 'volunteer' work in their community one weekend a month for a year.
Fund 100,000 apprenticeships in England within the next five years by cutting ‘poor quality’ university degrees.
From the 2025 academic year, adults will be able to apply for loans to cover new qualifications.

What will the Conservatives' pledges cost?

The pledges made in the Conservative manifesto amount to £17.2bn spending on tax cuts, and £5bn in other spending measures by 2029-30.

The Conservatives say this would be offset by £18bn worth of savings by 2029-30, with the majority coming from welfare reforms and cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion.

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Which?’s consumer agenda

Ahead of the general election, we'll be covering all the major party manifestos as and when they're released.

We also recently published our own election manifesto, which sets out the reforms Which? believes the next government should implement to protect consumers.

Better retirement standards, protecting face-to-face banking services and a dedicated fraud minister are some of the money policies Which? wants to see from the next government.

Find out more in our consumer agenda for the government.