Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering slashing stamp duty or abolishing inheritance tax in the next Conservative manifesto, according to a report by The Telegraph.

Sunak is under pressure after two byelection defeats in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth, and political scientist and pollster Professor Sir John Curtice has predicted that the Tories are facing a heavier defeat than Tony Blair’s Labour in 1997.

Tinkering with stamp duty has been a common habit of the Conservatives. When Sunak was Chancellor he introduced a ‘stamp duty holiday’, initially on purchases up to £500,000, which ran from March 2021 and September 2022.

Meanwhile then-Chancellor George Osborne introduced the 3% stamp duty surcharge on investment purchases, which came into force in 2016. As it stands stamp duty is charged at a rate of 5% for a main residence bought for between £250,001-£925,000, rising to 10% between £925,001-£1,500,000.