Election 2017: Labour promises to slash the cost of homes for 100,000 first-time buyers

Labour is promising to slash the cost of a home for 100,000 first-time buyers, who have been “let down most” by the Conservatives.

A “New Deal for first-time buyers” would cut up to 40 per cent off the price of a home for people “on ordinary incomes”, as well as giving a two-year holiday from stamp duty charges.

A Labour government would also re-focus the Conservatives’ much-criticised Help to Buy scheme – which tops up people’s savings by 25 per cent – so it would only be for first homes.

Around 20 per cent of those helped by Help to Buy have been purchasing their second, or even third or fourth homes, Labour says – pushing up property prices.

The strategy marks a sharp shift on Labour’s election pitch two years ago, when it appeared to focus help on renters, while the Tories appealed to house buyers.

John Healey, the party’s housing spokesperson, said: “Our first Labour housing priority will be help for young first-time buyers.

“Under the Conservatives, since 2010, homeownership has fallen by 200,000 with younger families on ordinary incomes the hardest hit.

“After seven years of failure, a Labour government will shift the housing market decisively towards first-time buyers on ordinary incomes.”

Speaking alongside Jeremy Corbyn in the North-east on Monday, Mr Healey also pledged:

– A New Deal for 1.2 million people on council waiting lists, by building 100,000 “genuinely affordable homes” a year by 2022, including the biggest council housing programme in over 30 years.

The “vast majority” would be at social rent levels, which is roughly half the cost of so-called “affordable rent”, the level to be used by the Conservatives.

– A New Deal for private renters, including three-year tenancies with an inflation cap on rent rises and new minimum property standards.

“After seven years of failure, the Conservatives have no plan to fix the housing crisis and Theresa May only offers more of the same,” Mr Healey added.

The plan is to build 100,000 affordable homes a year, of which 20,000 would be for first-time buyers, offering discounts of 10-40 per cent, depending on property prices in each area.

The 2015 Conservative manifesto pledged to build a million homes by the end of 2020, but will result in an increase of just 9,000 a year, according to one analysis published today.

Furthermore – as The Independent reported on Saturday – the Tory housing minister has admitted the homes for rent would be at “affordable rent” levels, which means 80 per cent of local market rates.

In the speech, Mr Healey criticised “seven years of failure” by the Conservatives, with the lowest level of new affordable housebuilding in 24 years.

He said 900,000 fewer under-45s owned their own home, rough sleeping had doubled and 120,000 children spent last Christmas in temporary accommodation.

The housing package would be funded from up to £5bn of extra borrowing through a “National Transformation Fund”, although developers would be required to pay for much of the discounts.

Andrew Percy, the Conservative minister for the northern powerhouse said his party had “got Britain building again”, adding: “This is just another unfunded promise Jeremy Corbyn can’t deliver.”