Senior Conservatives are said to be discussing abolishing inheritance tax – at an annual cost of £7billion to the Treasury – in a bid to win over voters ahead of the next election.
Downing Street is in talks about whether to scrap the levy in an attempt to shore up votes in so-called “blue wall” seats ahead of a general election in 2025.
Supporters say it could be a “gamechanger” in the south of England, where the Tories fear losing seats to opposition parties, according to The Times.
The votes could see Rishi Sunak become the first prime minister since Harold Wilson in 1968 to concede three seats at by-elections on the same day.
As the party trails Labour in official polls, axing inheritance tax could be considered a manifesto pledge rather than a policy to be implemented next year.
A source told the newspaper: “It’s about being an aspirational country.
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“You work hard, play hard and pass on your wealth. It’s a live discussion.”
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‘Will this cost you at ballot box?’
What is inheritance tax?
Inheritance tax is a charge on the estate – including property, money and possessions – of a person who has died.
People with an estate worth less than £325,000 usually do not have to pay inheritance tax, however, the value should still be reported.
Anyone with an estate above that value is liable to pay a standard 40% tax on the amount over the £325,000 threshold.
However, if you give away your home to your children or grandchildren, the threshold can rise to £500,000.
Two people co-habiting with joint home ownership could only have inheritance tax liability when one person dies and the value of the property exceeds £650,000.
A spouse or civil partner can pass on up to £1m including their home without any inheritance tax liability.
The average house price is £285,000, according to the latest official figures.
But abolishing inheritance tax could cost the Treasury up to £7bn a year as the nation continues to battle a cost of living crisis and inflation remains high.
A Treasury spokesperson said the vast majority of estates do not pay inheritance tax, with more than 93% of estates forecast to have zero inheritance tax liability in the coming years.
However, they added: “The tax raises more than £7bn a year to help fund public services millions of us rely on daily.”
Talks about inheritance tax come days after the government pledged to give millions of public sector workers including teachers and doctors a 6% pay rise.
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‘Pay rise not funded by borrowing’
The pay increase will not be funded by borrowing, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has insisted.
A Downing Street source said of the inheritance tax claims: “The PM has repeatedly said that he wants to cut taxes for people.
“As Conservatives that is obvious, we want people to keep more of their own money.
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“But the current economic situation means that the government is completely focused on halving inflation – to help people have more in their pockets at the end of each month.
“This kind of future-scoping speculation just isn’t on the PM’s mind at the moment and requires a different kind of economic environment to the one we are operating in.”
The man who served 14 years in jail for the murder of schoolboy Jimmy Mizen has been recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions.
It follows reporting in The Sun newspaper that Jake Fahri, 35, was a drill rapper releasing music under the name TEN, who conceals his identity with a balaclava, and was played on BBC 1Xtra.
A Probation Service spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Jimmy Mizen’s family who deserve better than to see their son’s murderer shamelessly boasting about his violent crime.”
Jimmy’s father Barry told Sky News: “We’re not gloating or anything, in a way it’s quite sad.”
His son bled to death after Fahri threw an oven dish at him in a south London bakery on 10 May 2008.
The dish shattered on his chin and severed an artery in the schoolboy’s neck.
Fahri was 19 when he was given a life sentence in 2009 with a minimum term of 14 years and was released on licence in June 2023.
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His music was played on BBC 1Xtra less than 18 months later, the Sun reported, adding that DJ Theo Johnson named him an “up-and-coming star”.
Jimmy’s father earlier said he and his wife Margaret were “stunned into silence” when they were told about Fahri’s music, which often features violent themes.
In one song, which appears to reference Jimmy’s death, he raps about “sharpening” a blade.
“Judge took a look at me, before the trial even started he already knows he’s gonna throw the book at me,” the lyrics say.
Another track includes the lines: “See a man’s soul fly from his eyes and his breath gone… I wanted more, it made it less wrong. Seeing blood spilled same floor he was left on.”
The BBC has said the artist’s tracks do not feature on any BBC playlists, and that a track which appeared to reference Jimmy’s death had never been played on its channels.
A spokesman for the broadcaster added there were “no further plans to play his music”, adding: “We were not aware of his background and we in no way condone his actions.”
A Probation Service spokesperson said: “All offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions. As this case shows, we will recall them to prison if they break the rules.”
Jimmy’s parents founded the Mizen Foundation after their son’s death. The charity helps young people in London who are escaping violence.
Mr Mizen said: “It appears that if he’s been recalled to prison, he must’ve breached his licence conditions
The man suspected of abducting Madeleine McCann won’t face any charges in the foreseeable future, a prosecutor has told Sky News.
German drifter Christian B, who cannot be fully identified under his country’s privacy law, is expected to be freed from an unrelated jail sentence this year while police in three countries continue to search for evidence against him.
Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said: “There is currently no prospect of an indictment in the Maddie case.
“As things stand, the accused Christian B’s imprisonment will end in early September.”
Madeleine, aged three, was asleep with her younger twin siblings in the family’s Portuguese rented holiday apartment before mother Kate discovered her missing at around 10pm on 3 May, 2007.
Her parents were dining nearby on the complex with friends and taking turns to check on all their sleeping children every half an hour.
Madeleine’s disappearance has become the world’s most mysterious missing child case.
Philipp Marquort, one of Christian B’s defence lawyers, welcomed the prosecutor’s pessimism about bringing charges.
He said: “This confirms the suspicions that we have repeatedly expressed, namely that there is no reliable evidence against our client.
“We regret that we have not yet been granted access to the investigation files. We have not yet been able to effectively counter the public prejudice arising from statements made by the prosecutor’s office.”
Christian B, 47, is in jail and coming to the end of his sentence for the rape of an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz, the Portuguese resort where Madeleine disappeared.
In October, he was acquitted on a series of rape and indecent assault charges after a non-jury trial in Germany, in which several references were made to his status as the main suspect in the Madeleine case.
The prosecutor said he was awaiting the court’s written judgment before launching an appeal against the acquittal. He believes the trial judges were biased against the prosecution.
If successful, he could apply for a new arrest warrant for Christian B to keep him in custody until a retrial with new judges.
He said: “We hope that the Federal Court of Justice will decide before the end of the accused’s imprisonment. If the Federal Court follows our legal opinion, we could apply for a new arrest warrant for the accused’s offences, so that the accused would then remain in custody beyond September 2025.
Mr Marquort said the defence team would oppose the prosecution’s appeal against the acquittal.
Prosecutor Mr Wolters has said in the past that he believes Madeleine is dead and that Christian B was responsible for her death. The suspect denies any involvement.
The case against Christian B is purely circumstantial; he’s alleged to have confessed to a friend that he abducted Madeleine, he has convictions for sex crimes against children, he was living in the area at the time, his mobile phone was close by when the young girl vanished and he re-registered one of his vehicles the next day.
The prosecutor won’t say what evidence he has to convince him Madeleine is dead, but he admitted he is still trying to find forensic evidence to link Christian B to the girl.
Jim Gamble, former head of the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, said he had expected the prosecutor to charge Christian B soon.
“He’s implied the whole way through that he has something more than the public are aware of,” he said.
“He’s made fairly definitive statements about whether Madeleine is alive or dead so you would expect their strategy to have been to charge him sooner rather than later.
“From what he’s said today I wonder if we’re witnessing the re-positioning of something to manage the disappointment that’ll come.”
Mr Wolters, who is based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, is investigating the case with the help of Portuguese police and detectives from Scotland Yard.
An investigation, led by the Surrey and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, is under way and inquiries remain ongoing, police said.
Senior Investigating Officer DCI Kimball Edey said specialist officers “are working around the clock to gather as much information as possible,” and that the force’s “thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims at this unbelievably difficult time”.