Inheritance Tax

Peter Fortune Excerpts

Wednesday 14th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)]

You cannot tax your way to prosperity—that is something that I, as a Conservative, believe. Not only do I believe it, but it has been demonstrated time and again in countries across the globe.

When this Government first entered office, under the previous Prime Minister, we were told that one of their central focuses would be to go for growth. We all know that Governments cannot conjure growth out of thin air. It is the Government’s job to create the right environment for businesses big and small to drive growth, but this Government spent their first period in office piling cost after cost on to British businesses, including through the national insurance increase and the Employment Rights Act 2025, delivering a regulatory burden that keeps growing.

Take pubs, for example, which have been some of the businesses hardest hit by this Government. Since 2023, we have seen nearly 700 pubs close. In my own constituency of Bromley and Biggin Hill, we have been lucky to retain the number of pubs that we have—that is through no inconsiderable effort by myself.

[Noah Law]

Does the hon. Member care to recall how many pubs closed on the previous Conservative Government’s watch, and just how big a deficit we were trying to fill through some of the interventions to which he referred earlier?

[Peter Fortune]

Labour Members are proving once again that they are desperate to talk about the past because they have no plan for the future.

Talking about the pubs in my constituency, we have seen a significant decrease in the number of people employed by them. The British Beer & Pub Association estimates that in Bromley and Biggin Hill, we have gone from around 1,150 people employed in pubs in 2023 to around 800 now. That reduction seems to have hit young people the hardest, with the number of 16 to 24-year-olds employed in the industry down by 200—half the figure in 2023.

Nationally, we have seen total gross value added from pubs and breweries fall from £47 billion in 2023 to £30.8 billion, and the Government’s tax take fall from £17 billion to £3.2 billion. Higher taxation and regulation are strangling an industry and leaving the Government with less money in the end.

[Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)]

I know that, like me, my hon. Friend is a champion of his local pubs. I put on the record that one of my local pubs, the Crown in Arford, has just won my “best pub” competition.

On my hon. Friend’s point about taxation, we tax cigarettes to stop people smoking. If we tax jobs, we have fewer jobs, and if we tax economic growth, we have less economic growth. Why does he think that Labour does not get this?

--- Later in debate ---

[Peter Fortune]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: you tax something to stop it happening, and if you tax jobs, they stop being created.

[Andrew Lewin]

The hon. Member is a friend—we play cricket together in the parliamentary team and have therefore shared a few pints in a pub. He is of generous spirit. Does he recognise that this Prime Minister is cutting taxes on pubs by 20%? That is something that everybody in the House should welcome.

[Peter Fortune]

The hon. Gentleman is being too generous: he plays cricket; I sort of stand there and get hit by the ball.

One has to look at taxation in the round, and if we look at the impact of things like the national insurance costs, we can see that it is getting more and more difficult for businesses to survive on the high street. If we want to see economic growth that will strengthen our local communities, strengthen high streets and deliver real opportunities for young people, we need a fundamental change in approach. That fundamentally different approach was outlined perfectly by the Leader of the Opposition and the rest of the shadow Cabinet in Birmingham last week. It is absolutely right that people should be able to leave assets such as family farms, businesses and homes to their direct descendants without being taxed. I warmly welcome our plans to abolish inheritance tax on family homes, rewarding a lifetime of hard work instead of punishing those who have scrimped and saved their whole life.

Halving employer national insurance for those aged 21 to 24 is exactly the bold policy we need to get young people back into work. Bill Perera, a McDonald’s franchisee in my constituency, has highlighted the employer national insurance increase as the very reason he is struggling to employ more young people. Halving it will greatly assist the hospitality and leisure businesses that give many people their first job. We know the need to tackle the unsustainable welfare budget, and our savings plan will save £71 billion by doing exactly that. This will allow us to pay for our commitments, such as 3% on defence spending by 2030, while reducing the deficit by £35.5 billion against 2029-30 forecasts.

The distinction between the Opposition and the Government could not be clearer. We are setting out a comprehensive plan to get our country back to work, grow the economy and make our communities stronger. The Government have no real plan, and they have floundered in their first few years in office and failed to deliver. The next Conservative Government will deliver. They will deliver a stronger economy and a stronger country.