Yahoo Finance Election 2024: Tories accuse Labour of stamp duty ‘hammering’ for first time buyers
The Conservatives have claimed Labour not matching their housing promises will result in “hammering” first-time buyers with stamp duty.
In the Tory manifesto, the party has said it would build 1.6m new homes and pledged to ditch stamp duty permanently for properties up to £425,000 for first-time buyers, as well as promising a new Help to Buy scheme with five per cent deposits.
The party now says a Labour government would increase stamp duty for first-time buyers from next April by failing to match their manifesto plans.
Stamp duty is only referenced once in the Labour manifesto when it states the party would use cash from upping the tax by one per cent on non-UK residents buying homes.
They say they would use the money to fund 300 new planning officers.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove, who is standing down at this election, said the Conservatives have a “clear plan” to help young people get on the housing ladder.
He argued: “Labour’s unfunded spending commitments mean they will raise taxes for every working household by £2,094.
“That includes hammering hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers with a massive stamp duty increase from next April, as well as plans to hit people’s savings with a suite of taxes that will erode the money saved for a deposit.”
But a Labour spokesperson hit back, saying: “This reeks of desperation from the Tories.
“Over 14 years, the Tories have completely failed on housing, and homeownership has become a pipedream for most working families.”
Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow housing secretary and deputy leader Angela Rayner has vowed the party would address the rental crisis and crack down on bidding wars.
Rayner vowed renters would be “better off” with Labour, with the party saying an affordable and secure rented sector is “crucial” to its plans for economic growth.
Labour says it will ban no-fault evictions, bring in legal protections for tenants over mould, and end the bidding wars and upfront payments. It has also committed to building 1.5m new homes over the next five years, and addressing extortionate rents.
“Time and time again, the Tories have failed to stand up for renters,” Rayner said. “From endless delays to no-fault evictions, to failure to sort damp, cold and mouldy homes, the Conservatives are failing working people.
“Labour will call time on a decade of Tory vested interest and put renters first. An affordable, secure private rented sector is vital for economic growth, allowing young people to save for a mortgage with more money in their pockets to spend in the day-to-day economy.
“Our plans will support good landlords but we are calling time on unscrupulous landlords strangling growth.”
