Anyone who doubted Kemi Badenoch's credentials as Conservative leader - or as a future prime minister - has got their answer.

It is just a year since she made her party conference debut at the helm in front of a membership still drained and distraught by the worst electoral drubbing in Tory history.

But there was a real sense of momentum - and the prospect of destiny in the making - in Birmingham yesterday as she declared that the next election will be 'a battle for the soul of the nation'.

At the core of Mrs Badenoch's address was the theme of home and family. Unveiling plans to scrap inheritance tax on family residences, she reminded delegates that the Conservatives have 'always been the party of home ownership'.

The announcement followed previous commitments to abolish stamp duty on primary homes and drop the Government's so-called 'mansion tax'.

Each of these initiatives will strike a deep chord in the British psyche. History shows that we have always strived to buy our homes and, of course, there is much to suggest that property ownership is a key factor in binding communities together.

Yet these moves also illustrate the chasm between Conservative philosophy and Labour's petty begrudgery. There are many in Andy Burnham's party who despise the notion that people might want to do better for their families.

There are even more on the Left who think there is something obscene about anyone aspiring to move to a nicer house through hard work and financial prudence. As Mrs Badenoch pointed out, the Labour Party considers it 'selfish to pass on what you have earned to your children' - whereas it is, she also remarked, 'one of the most human instincts of all' for most of us.

Nor, unsurprisingly, do the differences end there. By refusing to entirely abolish inheritance tax at a time when reducing the national debt, funding defence and building prisons are all priorities, the Tories are showing the sort of fiscal responsibility that is anathema to the Left.

Mrs Badenoch has also produced a detailed plan to slash the benefits bill and signalled her determination to tackle the migrant crisis in a meaningful way.

Contrast that with the spendthrift to-do list recited by Mr Burnham at the Labour conference last week. All sorts of expensive, ill-conceived proposals and barely a word on where the money to pay for them is coming from. Little wonder the nation's finances are in such a parlous state.

The Tory leader sent out a powerful signal in yesterday's speech that - despite calls for the Right to unite in advance of the next general election - she is unwilling to do business with Reform UK. In a scathing putdown, Mrs Badenoch - who has always worn her African heritage lightly - said she does not want to live in a country run by people who 'debate whether my mixed-race children are English'.

For perhaps the first time since the 2024 election, the battle lines are clearly drawn. The stage looks increasingly set for a head-to-head fight between classic Conservatism and 1970s-era hardline socialism.

No one disputes that the Tories have much catching up to do in terms of electoral support. Although some recent opinion polls have shown them nosing ahead of Reform, they are lagging well behind Labour.

For her part, Mrs Badenoch chose a High Street analogy to describe the situation. 'People are looking through the shop window,' she said. 'They like what they see, but let's be honest, not enough of them are buying yet.'

Following yesterday's convincing performance, it seems likely they'll be queuing out the door before much longer.

• READ MORE: Kemi's family home pledge: Tories promise NO stamp duty when you buy your house, NO mansion tax when you're living in it and NO inheritance tax when the time comes to pass it on 
• QUENTIN LETTS: Kemi's a mother on a mission. Tangle with her at your peril! 
• Cutting property taxes speaks to something deeply ingrained in our psyche - and will boost the economy too: DANIEL HANNAN 
• READ MORE: Don't tell me that I am not British: Mrs Badenoch gives Reform both barrels for 'trying to take the UK backwards'
• READ MORE: From the 'drama queens' of Reform to the 'Paddington Bear PM', we reveal the main themes of Kemi's speech
• DAN HODGES: This was Kemi's best speech yet - she exploited glaring gaps in Labour policy