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David Cameron: My mortgage plan for struggling families
The Prime Minister launches what he calls a “mission” to win over hard-pressed families, with immediate help to get on the housing ladder and tax cuts before the election.
Mr Cameron has committed to visiting Auschwitz in 2014. Photo: ANDREW WINNING/WPA POOL
By Tim Ross, Political Correspondent
9:00PM BST 27 Sep 2013
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In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, David Cameron announces that the full “Help to Buy” scheme, which will offer guarantees for 95-per-cent mortgages, will start within days.
Mr Cameron uses the interview, on the eve of the Conservative Party conference, to stake his personal authority on its success.
The scheme has already attracted warnings that it could contribute to a housing bubble, but Mr Cameron said he wanted to tackle the “broken” property market immediately.
He also speaks up for his tax break for married couples, saying that although he would have liked to bring it in sooner — and was stopped from doing so by Liberal Democrat opposition — it was the right measure. He also signals that taxes should be cut further as the economy recovers.
With under two years before the next general election, he outlines what will be his core offer to voters – that only the Tories can be trusted to ease the pain of rising living costs, by delivering a stable economy.
Related Articles
In a wide-ranging interview with with Matthew d'Ancona, the Prime Minister:
• Describes the Labour Party leader Ed Miliband’s plan to hit big companies with higher tax bills as “nuts”. He warns that Mr Miliband’s “backward looking, anti-enterprise rhetoric” shows that while the economy is finally “turning the corner”, Labour could “absolutely wreck it”;
• Defends his tax break for marriage, which will apply to just one in three couples as higher-rate taxpayers are excluded, insisting it is a case of “promise made, promise delivered”. It will be worth a saving of £200 to most of the couples who benefit. Mr Cameron says this is “a very good thing” and “better than what we said in the manifesto”, which would have saved couples up to £150;
• Lays the groundwork for a radical immigration Bill, expected this autumn, to stop immigrants with no right to free public services entering Britain and claiming state support. “Our system is being abused in terms of housing, in terms of health, in terms of legal aid. We need to crack down on every single one of those things,” he says. “We are going to stop the idea of something for nothing.” The Bill is expected to contain laws to prevent foreign-born criminals using the Human Rights Act to avoid deportation, the subject of a Sunday Telegraph campaign. “More needs to be done,” he admits;
• Says the European Union deserves “one last chance” to change before voters are given a say over whether Britain should quit in a referendum by 2017, ruling out a vote before the election. While he can “understand” the appeal of Nigel Farage’s UK Independence Party, Mr Cameron tells voters who want a referendum: “I am the one person that can give it to you”;
• Signals his determination to cut energy bills by developing shale gas resources and ending government subsidies for wind farms as soon as possible. “We want competitive fuel prices, not for 20 months, we want them for 20 years,” he says. Subsidies that support wind farms — very unpopular among grassroots Conservatives — will not last “a second longer than necessary”, he says.
His comments echo a warning by George Osborne on Saturday that Britain should not be “in front of the rest of the world” on green taxes;
• He hints that communities could be given more generous payments to accept fracking in their local areas. The existing offer of £100,000 per well and 1 per cent of revenues represents the Government’s “opening position”, he says;
• There is “a limit” to the amount the Government will spend on High Speed 2, and the project will be delivered within the £42.6 billion budget, Mr Cameron says. However, Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, went further, publicly conceding that the scheme could be in doubt if Labour MPs withdraw their support.
He told The Observer he would not "start guessing" what would happen "if the facts change". It would be "more politically dificult" to get the project through Parliament if the current cross party support breaks down, he said.
With less than two years to go before the next election, Mr Cameron is under pressure from within his own party to set out distinctive plans for securing a majority Conservative government in 2015.
In the interview he promises a “sharper focus” on the economy at this week’s conference to show that the party is “on the side of hard working people” with ambitions to own their homes and start their own businesses.
The Prime Minister admits that the Conservatives must respond to the “enormous issue” of the squeeze on living standards, and address the challenge posed by the Labour leader’s populist agenda.
“We do have to do more to explain how we are going to help people with the cost of living,” Mr Cameron says.
He says the “big argument” is that the “only one way you can improve people’s living standards” is to secure a recovery and “then you have got to cut people’s taxes”.
His comments represent his first direct response to Mr Miliband, who set out Labour’s intention to champion consumers’ rights through state intervention in the property market, and a two-year freeze on gas and electricity bills.
Polling since Mr Miliband’s speech last Tuesday suggests that his policies are popular with voters, who have seen their energy bills rise sharply, while average wages have stalled. Mr Cameron believes that too many young professionals are being priced out of the property market because they cannot raise enough money for a deposit.
The Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme will be brought forward from January 2014 to next week.
Under the three-year scheme, the Government will provide up to £12 billion of “guarantees” to encourage mortgage lenders to offer more loans worth 95 per cent of the price of a property.
The government guarantees are needed to reassure banks and building societies because of the risk that mortgage holders with such high loan-to-value deals will default.
The scheme is expected to enable banks to release £130 billion of loans for buyers of properties worth up to £600,000 who could not raise a larger mortgage deposit on their own.
A smaller government loan scheme for people buying newly built properties began in April.
However, the decision to accelerate the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee programme by three months comes despite growing concerns from critics that it could cause a housing bubble.
George Osborne, the Chancellor, has agreed to give the Bank of England the power to intervene if there is evidence that the mortgage support scheme will contribute to a rapid increase in house prices.
The concern from critics of Help to Buy is that there will be more buyers able to bid for the same number of properties on the market, as a result of the Government’s action, driving prices up to unsustainable levels.
In the interview, Mr Cameron insists it is the right policy to tackle the “broken” housing market which requires young professionals, such as teachers and nurses to provide a £40,000 or £50,000 deposit.
“If you haven’t got rich parents you can’t get that sort of money,” he says. “So that scheme comes forward, starting next week.
“That is a major move in terms of backing aspiration and home ownership which is something very close to my heart.”
Mr Cameron says he is proud to be honouring the long-cherished Conservative commitment to recognise marriage in the tax system. The plan for a £200 tax break will be enacted in next year’s Budget and will come into force in April 2015.
“We are going to deliver,” Mr Cameron says. “It has taken longer than I would like because obviously we have been battling with all the economic problems in front of us — and we’ve been in a coalition — but nonetheless I can announce that we will in the next Finance Bill be legislating for recognising marriage in the tax system.”
However, the Prime Minister accepts that some supporters of the reform may have wanted more, as an estimated eight million higher rate taxpayers will see no benefit.
Only four million couples who are basic rate taxpayers, where neither partner earns more than £42,285 a year, will benefit. “It is focused on basic rate tax payers and obviously I’d like to do more but I think it is right to start with people who are on relatively low earnings,” Mr Cameron says.
The Liberal Democrats, who oppose the plan, will abstain in the Commons vote authorising the tax break next year. Labour said the reform would exclude anyone who is “separated, widowed or divorced”.
Sir Gerald Howarth, a senior Conservative MP, welcomed the tax break, saying it would encourage people “to do the right thing”, even though he regretted that millions of higher earning couples would be no better off.
In the interview, Mr Cameron speaks of his “sense of mission” to make Britain a success and describes a new “purpose” amongst “the Conservative tribe” to keep Labour out of power.
However, in a rebuff to those on his own side who are demanding more traditional Tory policies, he says: “I’m not chasing off to the Right, I’m very firmly anchored where I have always been.
“Yes, I want to win back voters from Ukip,” he says.
“But let me be clear, I am also a Prime Minister who is a modern compassionate Conservative who believes that there is a very important role for government in making sure that we look after the poorest in our society, that we are a compassionate society, that we give people opportunities who aren’t necessarily born with them. We are not going to abandon that.”
In a week when a United Nations report warned that there was a 95 per cent certainty that humans were “the dominant cause” of climate change, Mr Cameron calls for a “common sense” approach to cutting pollution.
Renewable energy is important but taxpayers’ subsidies for wind farms must not continue “a second longer than necessary”, he says.
Britain must not “bear all the burden” for protecting the planet, he warns, predicting a split with Nick Clegg in the run up to polling day in 2015 on plans for targets to cut carbon emissions.
“I remain a green Conservative but I’m a practical, sensible, common-sense green Conservative and I think some of these people are slightly away with the fairies.”
The Prime Minister launches what he calls a “mission” to win over hard-pressed families, with immediate help to get on the housing ladder and tax cuts before the election.
Mr Cameron has committed to visiting Auschwitz in 2014. Photo: ANDREW WINNING/WPA POOLBy Tim Ross, Political Correspondent
9:00PM BST 27 Sep 2013
Follow
Comments In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, David Cameron announces that the full “Help to Buy” scheme, which will offer guarantees for 95-per-cent mortgages, will start within days.
Mr Cameron uses the interview, on the eve of the Conservative Party conference, to stake his personal authority on its success.
The scheme has already attracted warnings that it could contribute to a housing bubble, but Mr Cameron said he wanted to tackle the “broken” property market immediately.
He also speaks up for his tax break for married couples, saying that although he would have liked to bring it in sooner — and was stopped from doing so by Liberal Democrat opposition — it was the right measure. He also signals that taxes should be cut further as the economy recovers.
With under two years before the next general election, he outlines what will be his core offer to voters – that only the Tories can be trusted to ease the pain of rising living costs, by delivering a stable economy.
Related Articles
- Scotland unveils its own Help to Buy scheme
27 Sep 2013 - Osborne gives BoE power to curb Help to Buy
26 Sep 2013 - How the Help to Buy schemes work
18 Jul 2013 - Interns should report employers exploiting them, says PM
16 Sep 2013 - What's in the bag, Prime Minister?
15 Sep 2013 - Public do not trust Cameron on EU referendum, says Tory MP
14 Sep 2013
In a wide-ranging interview with with Matthew d'Ancona, the Prime Minister:
• Describes the Labour Party leader Ed Miliband’s plan to hit big companies with higher tax bills as “nuts”. He warns that Mr Miliband’s “backward looking, anti-enterprise rhetoric” shows that while the economy is finally “turning the corner”, Labour could “absolutely wreck it”;
• Defends his tax break for marriage, which will apply to just one in three couples as higher-rate taxpayers are excluded, insisting it is a case of “promise made, promise delivered”. It will be worth a saving of £200 to most of the couples who benefit. Mr Cameron says this is “a very good thing” and “better than what we said in the manifesto”, which would have saved couples up to £150;
• Lays the groundwork for a radical immigration Bill, expected this autumn, to stop immigrants with no right to free public services entering Britain and claiming state support. “Our system is being abused in terms of housing, in terms of health, in terms of legal aid. We need to crack down on every single one of those things,” he says. “We are going to stop the idea of something for nothing.” The Bill is expected to contain laws to prevent foreign-born criminals using the Human Rights Act to avoid deportation, the subject of a Sunday Telegraph campaign. “More needs to be done,” he admits;
• Says the European Union deserves “one last chance” to change before voters are given a say over whether Britain should quit in a referendum by 2017, ruling out a vote before the election. While he can “understand” the appeal of Nigel Farage’s UK Independence Party, Mr Cameron tells voters who want a referendum: “I am the one person that can give it to you”;
• Signals his determination to cut energy bills by developing shale gas resources and ending government subsidies for wind farms as soon as possible. “We want competitive fuel prices, not for 20 months, we want them for 20 years,” he says. Subsidies that support wind farms — very unpopular among grassroots Conservatives — will not last “a second longer than necessary”, he says.
His comments echo a warning by George Osborne on Saturday that Britain should not be “in front of the rest of the world” on green taxes;
• He hints that communities could be given more generous payments to accept fracking in their local areas. The existing offer of £100,000 per well and 1 per cent of revenues represents the Government’s “opening position”, he says;
• There is “a limit” to the amount the Government will spend on High Speed 2, and the project will be delivered within the £42.6 billion budget, Mr Cameron says. However, Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, went further, publicly conceding that the scheme could be in doubt if Labour MPs withdraw their support.
He told The Observer he would not "start guessing" what would happen "if the facts change". It would be "more politically dificult" to get the project through Parliament if the current cross party support breaks down, he said.
With less than two years to go before the next election, Mr Cameron is under pressure from within his own party to set out distinctive plans for securing a majority Conservative government in 2015.
In the interview he promises a “sharper focus” on the economy at this week’s conference to show that the party is “on the side of hard working people” with ambitions to own their homes and start their own businesses.
The Prime Minister admits that the Conservatives must respond to the “enormous issue” of the squeeze on living standards, and address the challenge posed by the Labour leader’s populist agenda.
“We do have to do more to explain how we are going to help people with the cost of living,” Mr Cameron says.
He says the “big argument” is that the “only one way you can improve people’s living standards” is to secure a recovery and “then you have got to cut people’s taxes”.
His comments represent his first direct response to Mr Miliband, who set out Labour’s intention to champion consumers’ rights through state intervention in the property market, and a two-year freeze on gas and electricity bills.
Polling since Mr Miliband’s speech last Tuesday suggests that his policies are popular with voters, who have seen their energy bills rise sharply, while average wages have stalled. Mr Cameron believes that too many young professionals are being priced out of the property market because they cannot raise enough money for a deposit.
The Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme will be brought forward from January 2014 to next week.
Under the three-year scheme, the Government will provide up to £12 billion of “guarantees” to encourage mortgage lenders to offer more loans worth 95 per cent of the price of a property.
The government guarantees are needed to reassure banks and building societies because of the risk that mortgage holders with such high loan-to-value deals will default.
The scheme is expected to enable banks to release £130 billion of loans for buyers of properties worth up to £600,000 who could not raise a larger mortgage deposit on their own.
A smaller government loan scheme for people buying newly built properties began in April.
However, the decision to accelerate the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee programme by three months comes despite growing concerns from critics that it could cause a housing bubble.
George Osborne, the Chancellor, has agreed to give the Bank of England the power to intervene if there is evidence that the mortgage support scheme will contribute to a rapid increase in house prices.
The concern from critics of Help to Buy is that there will be more buyers able to bid for the same number of properties on the market, as a result of the Government’s action, driving prices up to unsustainable levels.
In the interview, Mr Cameron insists it is the right policy to tackle the “broken” housing market which requires young professionals, such as teachers and nurses to provide a £40,000 or £50,000 deposit.
“If you haven’t got rich parents you can’t get that sort of money,” he says. “So that scheme comes forward, starting next week.
“That is a major move in terms of backing aspiration and home ownership which is something very close to my heart.”
Mr Cameron says he is proud to be honouring the long-cherished Conservative commitment to recognise marriage in the tax system. The plan for a £200 tax break will be enacted in next year’s Budget and will come into force in April 2015.
“We are going to deliver,” Mr Cameron says. “It has taken longer than I would like because obviously we have been battling with all the economic problems in front of us — and we’ve been in a coalition — but nonetheless I can announce that we will in the next Finance Bill be legislating for recognising marriage in the tax system.”
However, the Prime Minister accepts that some supporters of the reform may have wanted more, as an estimated eight million higher rate taxpayers will see no benefit.
Only four million couples who are basic rate taxpayers, where neither partner earns more than £42,285 a year, will benefit. “It is focused on basic rate tax payers and obviously I’d like to do more but I think it is right to start with people who are on relatively low earnings,” Mr Cameron says.
The Liberal Democrats, who oppose the plan, will abstain in the Commons vote authorising the tax break next year. Labour said the reform would exclude anyone who is “separated, widowed or divorced”.
Sir Gerald Howarth, a senior Conservative MP, welcomed the tax break, saying it would encourage people “to do the right thing”, even though he regretted that millions of higher earning couples would be no better off.
In the interview, Mr Cameron speaks of his “sense of mission” to make Britain a success and describes a new “purpose” amongst “the Conservative tribe” to keep Labour out of power.
However, in a rebuff to those on his own side who are demanding more traditional Tory policies, he says: “I’m not chasing off to the Right, I’m very firmly anchored where I have always been.
“Yes, I want to win back voters from Ukip,” he says.
“But let me be clear, I am also a Prime Minister who is a modern compassionate Conservative who believes that there is a very important role for government in making sure that we look after the poorest in our society, that we are a compassionate society, that we give people opportunities who aren’t necessarily born with them. We are not going to abandon that.”
In a week when a United Nations report warned that there was a 95 per cent certainty that humans were “the dominant cause” of climate change, Mr Cameron calls for a “common sense” approach to cutting pollution.
Renewable energy is important but taxpayers’ subsidies for wind farms must not continue “a second longer than necessary”, he says.
Britain must not “bear all the burden” for protecting the planet, he warns, predicting a split with Nick Clegg in the run up to polling day in 2015 on plans for targets to cut carbon emissions.
“I remain a green Conservative but I’m a practical, sensible, common-sense green Conservative and I think some of these people are slightly away with the fairies.”
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