Tories reaffirm pledge on inheritance tax

There was some confusion over the weekend as to the Conservatives pledge to abolish inheritance tax on estates worth less than £1 million, after shadow business secretary Kenneth Clarke said the plan was only an ‘aspiration’. He has since issued a statement insisting it would happen in the first term of a Tory government, and has been backed by other shadow cabinet ministers. Some political pundits and senior Tories have questioned whether they should be going ahead with a pledge made long before the full impact of the credit crunch had been felt.