The Conservatives have undergone a rapid transformation since David Cameron took over as party leader. For much of his reign to date, Cameron had to contend with Labour’s swing to the right, echoing many Conservative policies, but in a Labour environment.
The Tory leader has also been criticised for his ‘lukewarm policies’ including his now infamous ‘hug a hoodie’ statement and his pledge to improve elements of the UK, without detailing how this was to be achieved.
However in Blackpool at the Conservative party conference, Cameron finally announced the policies he would put in place should he be elected Prime Minister.
While much of his attention was on criticising the Labour party and its policies over the previous decade, Cameron and his shadow cabinet also detailed plans for revolutionising the UK – with housing issues firmly on the agenda.
On the scrap HIP
The Tory leader admitted that Home Information Packs (HIPs) would be one of the first things to be scrapped if the Conservatives came to power, a move that has divided the industry. While HIPs were set up to improve the speed and transparency of the house buying process, due to the removal of what were considered as vital components of the packs, such as the Home Condition Report, they have had little impact. Indeed, some sellers have admitted that they ‘undersold’ the details of their property to escape paying for HIPs, with four-bedroom properties changed to three-bedroom and a study properties in an attempt to sidestep the packs. While HIPs have now been expanded to include three-bedroom properties, it is clear that the general public have gained little from their existence. On the subject of HIPs, Grant Shapps, Shadow Housing Minister, said: “The experts ridiculed them. The industry doesn’t want them, and I can announce that the next Conservative government will scrap them.”
Major changes
Cameron, in his main speech to the conference, admitted that major changes would have to be made to the UK housing market, to boost the chances of aspiring first-time buyers making the step onto the property ladder. He indicated that Stamp Duty, HIPs and inheritance tax would all be altered in efforts to improve home ownership.
Following on from this, Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, indicated proposals for the abolition of Stamp Duty for first-time buyers. He said: “The next Conservative government will abolish Stamp Duty for almost all first-time buyers.
Anyone who buys their first home for under £250,000 will pay no Stamp Duty. We will take 200,000 people a year out of Stamp Duty altogether; that’s one million people over a parliament; and our message to the families working long hours, saving every spare pound to afford their first home is this: your dream is our dream too. Your aspiration is our aspiration. We will get you out of tax and into your home.”
Cameron added: “One of the aspirations people still have, and rightly so, is the aspiration to own a flat or a home of their own. All of us, all of the shadow cabinet here, can tell the same story of young people who come to our surgeries, they show you their salary, they talk about local house prices and they just say: ‘I don’t see how I can achieve that dream.’ And George showed how we going to cut Stamp Duty to show that we’re on their side and we will help mend the housing ladder.”
As part of proposals to appeal to voters, Osborne also pledged to make changes to inheritance tax; a tax that many have claimed is unfair, and unjustified. He said: “The next Conservative government will raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1 million. That means we will take the family home out of inheritance tax.
“In a Conservative Britain, you will not be punished for working hard and saving hard.”
A real alternative
In his speech, Cameron came out fighting and finished his speech wih the closing line, “Mr Brown, what’s it going to be? Why don’t you go ahead and call that election? Let the people pass judgement on 10 years of broken promises, let people decide who’s really making the arguments about the future of our country. Let people decide who can make the changes that we really need in our country. Call that election. We will fight. Britain will win.”
Cameron had previously been accused of drifting through policies, but his latest speech detailed a real alternative to the current Labour government. While some issues such as the abolition of HIPs may or may not be in the best interests of the market, it is clear that by promising to adapt Stamp Duty and inheritance, the Tories have latched onto popular opinion.
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