Ever since Margaret Thatcher declared her belief in a ‘property-owning democracy’ and introduced Right to Buy in 1980, the UK has been a nation obsessed with the idea of homeownership, and Rishi Sunak wants to tap into that.
Sunak unveiled the Conservative party’s manifesto yesterday, including a pledge to help tens of thousands of young people onto the property ladder by continuing indefinitely the existing £425,000 threshold before first-time buyers have to pay stamp duty tax on purchases if it wins the upcoming general election.
The Sunak, much like some of the Tory PMs that have held office before him, including Boris Johnson, David Cameron and Theresa May, also vowed to pave the way for the country’s generation of renters to become a generation of homeowners instead.
Sunak yesterday pledged to abolish capital gains tax for landlords who sell their property to tenants. The scheme would last two years.
The party has also promised to introduce a new Help to Buy equity loan scheme. To run for three years, it would be available to those buying new-builds, worth up to 20% of a property’s value and would help buyers purchase with a 5% deposit.
The dream of a property-owning democracy is alive, but are the Tories the right party to be in government after the 4 July election to help people fulfil it?
Many people working in the property sector certainly seem to think so.
A recent EYE poll sought to establish where voting intentions currently lie within the property industry, with 42.6% of readers voting for the Conservative party, while 26% supported Labour. Reform UK (13.7%) and the Lib Dems (6.5%) got a smaller share of the vote.
EYE’s poll carried out in the run-up to the election shows a commanding lead for the Conservatives among those working in the housing sector, suggesting that Labour have not won hearts and minds across the industry.
Labour often charge that Sunak’s privileged background means he is out of touch. But echoing Thatcher by going after working class votes is a way of countering that, and he will hope that his housing polices could yet play a big part in closing the huge gap on Labour in the polls.
Property industry responds to key housing policies in Conservative manifesto
