Labour today slams the Tories’ severe economic failure, revealing
that first-time buyers are now likely to need a £102,000 deposit
to keep their mortgage payments at the same level as a year ago.
That is over three times the £30,000 figure that first-time
buyers were having to save for as an average deposit this time
last year.
Labour has said this has put the dream of home ownership out of
the reach of millions and shows the stark reality of the Tory
mortgage crisis. Too often, families who are saving for their
first home but getting no closer to buying it feel like they’re
doing something wrong.
As the party of home ownership, Labour have said they will put
social and genuinely affordable housing at the heart of their
plans, support first-time buyers with a comprehensive mortgage
insurance scheme, and give greater rights and protections to
renters.
With interest rates rising for the 13th time in a
row on Thursday 22 June, increasing the painful squeeze on
personal finances, Labour has set out a plan to ease the Tory
mortgage crisis with a set of mandatory measures.
These would be made compulsory by instructing the regulator to
require all lenders to bring in measures such as allowing
borrowers to switch to interest-only mortgage payments for a
temporary period or to lengthen the term of their mortgage
period.
By failing to make its own measures mandatory, the Government are
allowing households slip through the cracks and miss out on the
mortgage support they need.
Recent analysis from Labour shows Tory failure on housebuilding
is set to deal a £44 billion blow to the UK economy, with the
state set to miss out on £16 billion in tax receipts because of
the projected fall in housebuilding.
Earlier this year, set out Labour’s mission for
growth, with a target to achieve the highest sustained growth in
the G7, with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of
the country making everyone, not just a few, better off.
MP, Labour's Shadow
Chancellor, said:
“Across Britain, people are being hit hard by a Tory mortgage
bombshell.
“Unlike this government, Labour will not stand by as millions
face a mortgage catastrophe made in Downing Street.
“They haven’t just made life so much more expensive for mortgage
holders and renters alike – now their continued failure to build
more homes means the hopes and dreams of so many are destroyed.
“Labour’s mandatory plan to ease the Tory mortgage bombshell
offers practical help now, while our commitment to fiscal
responsibility and growth mission will secure our economy for the
future.
"As the party of home ownership, Labour will build more homes,
get more first-time buyers on the housing ladder and give local
people first dibs on homes in their area."
Ends
Notes
- Interest rates on a two-year fix a year ago were 2.65%
- That means a year ago monthly mortgage payments of £1,017
