Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, said: "Recent research from Alliance & Leicester Mortgages shows that one in four first time buyers who bought a property in the last 12 months, found that the cost of stamp duty was a major obstacle to getting onto the property ladder. I urge all three political parties to seriously consider the plight of the first time buyer and make them exempt from paying the stamp duty tax altogether.
"Any moves to ease the burden of the stamp duty tax on first time buyers is a step in the right direction. Each political party has aligned itself with this issue in the run up to the General Election, with Labour's recent increase in the budget to £120,000, and now the Conservatives pledge to abolish stamp duty for properties under £250,000 and the Liberal Democrats pledge to abolish stamp duty under £150,000."
