First time buyers will be given a £5,000 tax boost to help them onto the housing ladder, the Conservatives have pledged.

Speaking at the party’s conference, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride (main picture) told delegates the Tories wanted to help young people take their first big steps in life.

People will see the £5,000 of National Insurance in their first job redirected into a nominated savings account.

Choice

The ‘First Job Bonus’, will allow couples to save a combined £10,000, in a policy that will cost £2.8bn a year, the party says.

Young people would not have to put the money towards a first home, but could choose how they spend it.

When someone takes their first job, the first £5,000 they pay in National Insurance won’t go to the taxman.”

Stride said: “When someone takes their first job, the first £5,000 they pay in National Insurance won’t go to the taxman, it will go towards  a deposit on their first home, or it will go towards their savings for later life.

“Helping them buy a home, build a family, save for the future.”

The party says the move will be paid for from cuts to welfare, the civil service and foreign aid, if it wins the next General Election.

Restricted

And the rebate will be restricted to British nationals who are first time buyers, who will be able to draw down the cash after five years.

In July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves relaunched the Freedom to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time buyers, who can only afford a deposit of 5%.

James Nightingall, founder of HomeFinder AI, says: “In theory, a £5k National Insurance rebate is a step in the right direction but is unlikely to have a significant impact on London’s first-time buyers who still face some of the UK’s highest property prices.

“To really help people get on the property ladder, it would be more effective to reconsider the recently adjusted stamp suty thresholds or introduce other initiatives that boost buyer confidence.”

Main picture: BBC News

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