Kemi Badenoch has pledged that a Conservative government would restore VAT-free shopping for overseas visitors, the Daily Mail has reported, in a move the party says could attract up to 2.35 million additional visitors and generate £4.1 billion in extra spending. The tax-free shopping scheme was scrapped in 2021, and Britain is currently the only major shopping destination in Europe that denies international visitors a tax refund.
Mrs Badenoch said:
"Five years of sending shoppers to Paris or Milan is more than enough...
"Britain should be a magnet for tourists who want to spend, not a country that tells them to take their money elsewhere."
More than 500 business leaders have backed the campaign to restore the scheme, including the bosses of Fortnum & Mason, Paul Smith and the parent company of Claridge's. Even Labour's Mayor of London has called on the Government to restore tax-free shopping, describing the decision to scrap it as "a huge mistake."
The announcement contrasts with Labour's decision this month to introduce a new levy on overnight hotel stays across mayoral authorities.
Westminster Conservatives support the reintroduction of VAT-free shopping, which would directly benefit the West End's world-leading retail, hospitality and hotel sectors.
On the proposed overnight levy, Westminster's position remains clear: if such a tax is to be introduced at all, at least 50 per cent of the revenue should remain with the local councils that provide the services tourists rely on, from clean and safe streets to waste collection and street management, in a city that welcomes an estimated 800,000 visitors every day. Cllr Paul Swaddle OBE, Leader of Westminster City Council, has launched a petition calling on the Mayor of London to commit to exactly that. Sign it here.
