I was pleased to see a series of policy announcements made last week at the Conservative Party Conference. It was right that Kemi Badenoch and the Shadow Cabinet took time to formulate, properly research and evidence new policies.
A serious party that aspires to lead does things properly, rather than making things up as they go along, like we see with Reform UK. I welcome the sensible and considered approach the Conservatives are coming up with polices, which will mean better outcomes and less risk of unintended consequences.
The big announcement at our party conference was that the next Conservative Government will abolish stamp duty. Fully costed as part of a wider range of policies to ensure our country lives within our means, it will be one out of a range of measures, to help fix our housing market that isn’t working for very many people. The economic benefits will be significant but so will the social benefits. As Kemi Badenoch said, “because a society where no one can afford to buy, or move, is a society where social mobility is dead.”
This will be affordable because unlike Labour, we Conservatives are willing to cut spending. While Rachel Reeves will be hiking up taxes again in next month’s budget, that will further hurt our economy, the next Conservative Government will implement the £47 billion of savings it has identified. Half of all savings will be to reduce Labour’s ever-growing budget deficit, and the other half will be to make our economy strong again. This is a new golden rule for the Conservatives.
Other welcome policy announcements include scrapping business rates for high street shops and pubs, reforms to welfare, 10,000 new police officers, tripling stop and search, scrapping the Sentencing Council, improving behaviour in schools, doubling apprenticeships, support for our veterans, £165 off everyone’s electricity bills, drilling in the North Sea, scrapping the Family Farm Tax, scrapping the Family Business Tax, out of the ECHR, a plan for our borders, a plan for a stronger economy. Crawley is struggling under Labour and we Conservatives have a plan for positive change.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Conservative Group
15h October 2025
