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Hopes for general election pledges

Journalist: Tom Dunstan, FTAdviser

ended 28. May 2024

The looming general election has finally been called and the UK is set to go to the polls on July 4th, kicking off 6 weeks of intense campaigning.

We are currently in the calm before the storm as we tentatively wait for both parties to release manifestos and make policy pledges.

What housing/mortgage related policies would you like either party to make over the coming 6 weeks? What do you think are the most likely policy pledges to be made and what are your pie-in-the-sky hopes?

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
Pledges are ultimately just that. From what we have seen with the current Government, you can make as many pledges as you like but actions speak louder than words. Otherwise it is all just hot air and no substance simply used for vote catching to later renege on. The next Government should look at electoral reform and, as well as making Housing a senior department and not a feeder role, they should make all basics such as health, education, utilities, transport and housing cross party rather than political hot potatoes.
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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
What has been lacking from government policy for the past five years is a coherent house building and buying incentive scheme. Above that, and missing for even longer, is a strategic housing policy that focuses on building millions of homes, mostly affordable in areas of demand. Labour have a clean slate, with nothing currently on the table. We need to understand their ambitions before the election so we can hold them to their manifesto pledges when in office.
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Dariusz Karpowicz
Director at Albion Financial Advice
It's clear that neither party is prioritising the housing crisis in the UK, likely because it’s such a complex issue to tackle. Labour plans to make life even harder for smaller landlords with more regulations. Even if a stamp duty cut is proposed, it won't significantly help first-time buyers who are struggling with affordability and high interest rate mortgages. Over the next six weeks, I'd hope to see policies aimed at increasing housing supply, improving affordability and offering support for first-time buyers. But realistically, we might just get more short-term fixes rather than long-term solutions. Let's hope for some innovative and impactful pledges that truly address the root problems in the housing sector.
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Adam Hosker
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Cyborg Finance
Talking to landlords, it's interesting to hear their thoughts. They are mostly not worried about Labour's Rent Controls, thinking Rent Controls have historically increased rents. Instead, they fear the Conservatives. Who have made landlords the only business taxed on turnover instead of profits and have recently been working to make evictions harder.
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James Bull
Mortgage Broker at JB Mortgages
After the chaos of the Lizz Truss mortgage meltdown it felt like 5% mortgage rates were the end of the world. But here we are under "stable" Sunak back with 5% mortgage rates ! If Rishi Sunak thinks he can run an election campaign based on the economy then maybe he is forgetting the millions of mortgage holders paying hundreds of extra pounds in interest every month. Voters certainly wont forget this, they get a reminder every month when the mortgage direct debit hits their bank account.
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Rhys Schofield
Brand Director at Peak Mortgages and Protection
Quite simply, I have everything crossed for some sort of clear and long term housing strategy to build enough houses for people to live in and bring an end to inflation busting house price rises that stop first time buyers getting on the ladder in the first place.

That and electoral reform. Let's put First Past The Post in the dustbin of history where it belongs.
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Rob Gill
Managing Director at Altura Mortgage Finance
We might now dream of a summer that starts with a base rate cut in June, then a new government in early July, followed by England crowned European Champions a week or so later. Maybe it'll even stop raining!