Stamp Duty is “bunging up the housing market”, thwarting the plans of potential home movers, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride (pictured) claims.

The Conservatives will scrap Stamp Duty altogether if they win the next General Election, although only for primary – not second or buy-to-let – properties.

In March, the Tories launched a petition calling on the Government to abolish Stamp Duty on main residences, arguing it is holding back housing mobility and making home ownership harder to achieve.

Unaffordable

Now, Stride told Winkworth’s Property Exchange podcast that Stamp Duty was stopping people buying their first home, blocking those who need to move for work, and making it unaffordable to move for downsizers.

“Stamp duty damages aspiration and the economy. And this hits the majority of England. It’s not just a London problem.

It’s bunging up the housing market.”

“The social consequences are far-reaching, from first-time buyers to elderly people living in houses they can’t afford to run. It’s bunging up the housing market.”

He said the Conservatives would fund the move by cuts in the benefits bill, reducing the size of the civil service and lowering overseas aid.

Slashed

Dominic Agace, Chief Executive at Winkworth, described how Stamp Duty has slashed the number of home moves.

He told the podcast: “It is devastating for the level of transactions and affecting all movement in the property market.

“There were 72,000 transactions last year, compared with 140,000 transactions a few years ago.”

Listen to the podcast here

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