New house price statistics show Tories have failed to help younger people get a good start in life - John Healey

John Healey MP, Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, commenting on new house price statistics, said: 

“The number of home-owners under 45 has fallen by over 900,000 since the Conservatives came to power in 2010.

“The Tories have spent seven years talking about home-ownership but they have failed to help younger people on ordinary incomes get a good start in life and failed to build the new homes our country needs. The number of new low-cost homes to buy has halved since 2010.

“Labour will give young working people fresh hope of owning their own home by building more affordable housing for first-time buyers, cutting stamp duty, and giving local people first-dibs on new homes built in their area.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

• Today’s house price index shows that house prices in England increased by 5.7% over the year to September 2017, with the average price in England now £244,000: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-house-price-index-summary-september-2017/uk-house-price-index-summary-september-2017
• The English Housing Survey shows that the number of home-owning households aged under 45 has fallen by 904,000 since 2010:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/658479/2015-16_Section_1_Households_Annex_Tables.xlsx
• The number of affordable homes to buy built last year was less than half the number built in Labour’s last year in office: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/657915/Live_Table_1000.xlsx
• Labour’s plan to help first-time buyers is available on pages 8-9 of our housing manifesto: https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Housing-Mini-Manifesto.pdf