The Tories have begun to roll out their conference offer to voters. Today, they’ve announced that if re-elected, first time buyers under 40 will be offered properties to buy at a 20 percent discount. There will be a 100,000 houses available under this scheme, all built on brownfield land. The discount will be achieved by exempting the construction of these homes from various taxes and levies.
Tories win elections when they extend home ownership and this idea will have some resonance with aspirational voters worried about how they’ll ever afford a home There will, though, be those on the right who worry about this extension of Help to Buy, arguing that it encourages a reliance on cheap credit.
Politically, though, the Tories have to have an offer on housing, something designed to show how they’ll stop home ownership becoming the preserve of the wealthy. Centre-right parties only have a realistic chance of sustained electoral success in property owning-democracies.
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