Ahead of the upcoming general election on 4th July, our Head of Personal Finance, Brian Byrnes collates a complete index of the proposed measures the two main parties’ manifestos outline, that could affect UK taxpayers. 

We have chosen to look at the policies of the current governing party and the official opposition, but other party manifestos are available. Here are some helpful resources:

Here are all the parties standing in the 2024 general election

Manifestos 

Plus, we set out the Moneybox Manifesto – three initiatives we believe would help more people build wealth with greater confidence. 

 

Labour

As Conservatives’ biggest opponent, Labour’s manifesto sets out to ‘change Britain and improve the living standards of working people’. Some of its most glittering proposals include tackling tax avoidance, while pledging not to increase National Insurance, income tax, or VAT. As well as plans to establish and fund a National Wealth Fund with £7.3bn, and appointing a ‘Covid Corruption Commissioner’ to recoup public money lost in pandemic-related fraud.

 

Economic policy

  • Adhere to fiscal rules: 
    • The current budget moves into balance, so that day-to-day costs are met by revenues, and debt must be falling as a share of the economy by the fifth year of the forecast.
  • Commit to one major fiscal event (budget) a year, rather than the two we have today. 
  • Strengthen the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), with every fiscal event (budget) making significant changes to taxation or spending subject to an independent OBR forecast.
  • Commit to the independence of the Bank of England and maintain the 2% inflation target.
  • Establish a National Wealth Fund capitalised with £7.3bn over the course of the next Parliament. Labour plans to allocate:
    • £1.8bn to upgrade ports and build supply chains across the UK
    • £1.5bn to new gigafactories
    • £2.5bn for the steel industry
    • £1bn to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture 
    • £500m to support the manufacturing of green hydrogen
  • Modernise HMRC by increasing registration and reporting requirements, strengthening HMRC’s powers, and investing in new technology and build capacity within HMRC.
  • Implement ‘Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay: Delivering a New Deal for Working People’ in full, introducing legislation within 100 days after consultation with business. This will include banning exploitative zero hours contracts; ending fire and rehire; creating a Single Enforcement Body; and introducing basic rights from day one to parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal.

Personal tax measures

  • No increases to National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of income tax, or VAT.
  • Change the law to tackle tax avoidance and end the use of offshore trusts to avoid inheritance tax.
  • Close further non-dom tax loopholes and replace the non-dom tax regime with a modern scheme for people genuinely in the country for a short period.
  • Increase stamp duty on purchases of residential property by non-UK residents by 1%.

 

Business tax measures

  • Publish a roadmap for business taxation for the next Parliament.
  • Apply VAT and business rates to private schools.
  • Close the carried interest tax loophole for private equity. 
  • Cap corporation tax at the current level of 25% for the entire Parliament.
  • Retain a permanent full expensing system for capital investment and the annual investment allowance for small business.
  • Replace the business rates system in England.
  • Replace short funding cycles for key R&D institutions with 10-year budgets.
  • Improve guidance and remove barriers to exporting for small businesses. 
  • Take action on late payments to ensure small businesses and the self-employed are paid on time.
  • Appoint a fixed-term Covid Corruption Commissioner and recoup public money lost in pandemic-related fraud.

 

Pensions

  • Increase investment from pension funds in UK markets.
  • Adopt reforms to ensure workplace pension schemes take advantage of consolidation and scale to deliver better returns for UK savers and greater productive investment for UK PLC.
  • Undertake a review of the pensions landscape to consider what steps are needed to improve pension outcomes and increase investment in UK markets. 
  • Retain the triple lock for the state pension.
  • End injustice of Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme and review the unfair surplus arrangements and transfer the Investment Reserve Fund back to members, so that mineworkers receive a fairer pension.

 

Financial services

  • Mandate UK-regulated financial institutions – including banks, asset managers, pension funds, and insurers – and FTSE 100 companies to develop and implement credible transition plans that align with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement.
  • Reverse the Conservatives’ decision to prevent the Bank of England giving due consideration to climate change in its mandates.
  • Create the conditions to support innovation and growth in the sector, through supporting new technology, including Open Banking and Open Finance and ensuring a pro-innovation regulatory framework.
  • Support the development of new products, services and business models, such as banking hubs, that will help reinvigorate the high street.
  • Work with the private sector, including banks and building societies, to provide further private finance to accelerate home upgrades and low carbon heating.

 

Tech

  • Work with technology companies to stop their platforms being exploited by fraudsters.
  • Support international efforts to make sure multinational tech companies pay their fair share of tax.

 

Read the full Labour manifesto here.

 

Conservatives 

After 14 years in power, the Conservatives are campaigning the country to ‘keep going’ with a ‘clear plan to secure a more secure future’. Their manifesto includes pledges to cut National Insurance, abolish Stamp Duty for first-time buyers on homes up to £425,000 and commit to a Pension Tax Guarantee whereby no new taxes on pensions are introduced.

 

Personal tax measures

  • Reduce National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for employees further taking the rate down to 6% by April 2027 and looking to abolish NICs entirely when financial conditions allow.
  • Abolish the main rate of self-employed National Insurance by the end of the next Parliament.

 

Housing and planning

  • Complete the process of leasehold reform and cap ground rents at £250, reducing them to “peppercorn” over time – meaning it would eventually become nominal.
  • Make the abolishment of Stamp Duty for homes up to £425,000 for first time buyers permanent.
  • Deliver 1.6m well-designed homes.
  • Support local and smaller builders by requiring councils to set land aside for them and lifting Section 106 burdens on smaller sites.
  • Renew the Affordable Homes Programme.
  • Make permanent the increase to the threshold at which first-time buyers pay Stamp Duty to £425,000 from £300,000
  • Legislate for new ‘Local Connection’ and ‘UK Connection’ tests for social housing in England.
  • Pass the Renters Reform Bill and abolish Section 21.
  • Introduce a two-year temporary Capital Gains Tax relief for landlords who sell to their existing tenants.
  • Ensure councils have the powers they need to manage the growth of holiday lets.

 

Pensions

  • Introduce a ‘Triple Lock Plus’, guaranteeing that both the State Pension and tax-free allowance for pensioners always rise with the highest of inflation, earnings or 2.5%.
  • Commit to a Pensions Tax Guarantee, whereby no new taxes will be introduced on pensions.
  • Maintain the 25% tax free lump sum and maintain tax relief on pension contributions at their marginal rate.
  • Maintain all current pensioner benefits, including free bus passes, Winter Fuel Payments, free prescriptions, and TV licences.
  • Consider the Ombudsman report into WASPI women and work with Parliament to provide an appropriate and swift response.

 

Financial Services

  • Improve access to finance for SMEs through expanding Open Finance and by exploring the creation of Regional Mutual Banks.
  • Build on the policies set out in the Edinburgh Reforms so that the UK continues to be an innovative and competitive global financial centre.
  • Support the City of London’s position through the implementation of the Mansion House reforms.
  • Maintain highest standards of consumer protection and prudential regulation to ensure no repeat of the banking crisis.
  • Work with the British Business Bank and private sector fund managers to secure a £250m Invest in Women Fund to support female entrepreneurs.

 

Business tax measures

  • Retain key tax incentives that encourage small businesses to grow, including the Enterprise Investment Scheme, Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, Venture Capital Trusts, Business Asset Disposal Relief, Agricultural Property Relief and Business Relief.
  • Commit to not raising Corporation Tax or Capital Gains Tax in the next Parliament.
  • Promote digital invoicing and improve enforcement of the Prompt Payment Code.
  • Ease the burden of business rates for high street, leisure and hospitality businesses by increasing the multiplier on distribution warehouses that support online shopping over time.

  

Tech

  • Increase public spending on Research & Development (R&D) to £22bn a year, up from £20 bn this year.
  • Maintain existing R&D tax reliefs.
  • Continue with investment of over £1.5bn into large-scale compute clusters.
  • Push forward with the Advanced Manufacturing Plan, providing a £4.5bn commitment to secure manufacturing sectors including automotive, aerospace, life sciences and clean energy.
  • Scale R&D funding to a minimum of 5% of the defence budget, together with an additional 2% to accelerate investments in new weapon systems.
  • Invest in new technology to achieve broadband targets for hard-to-reach areas.

 

Read the full Conservatives manifesto here. 

 

Moneybox manifesto 

In response to the two main party manifestos, we’re calling on the incoming government to prioritise three personal finance initiatives that could be instrumental in helping more people build wealth throughout life with greater confidence. 

  1. Future-proof the Lifetime ISA to support the next generation of homebuyers by reviewing the property price cap to ensure it continues to meet the needs of all those who need it most into the future, even if they happen to live in the most expensive parts of the country. An annual emergency withdrawal allowance should also be introduced to help savers weather the cost of living crisis and any future unforeseen costs while motivating them to continue saving towards their long-term financial goals, whether buying their first home or boosting their retirement savings.
  2. Legislate the outcome of the FCA’s Advice Guidance Boundary Review to help close the advice gap and significantly increase the support available to help people choose financial products and make financial decisions with greater confidence.
  3. Commit to making pension dashboards available in 2025 to connect British workers with the c.£19bn in lost pension pots and engage more people in planning for their retirement earlier in life.