Housing Secretary Michael Gove (main picture) has accused Labour of plans to increase taxes on first-time buyers by up to £11,250.

He said that if Labour fails to keep the temporary cut in Stamp Duty introduced by former PM Liz Truss, then FTBs will pay more.

The threshold for FTBs to pay Stamp Duty on a property purchase was raised from £300,000 to £425,000, but it is due to go back down again next April.

Match promise

The Conservatives have pledged to make the change permanent, and they claim that if Labour doesn’t match this promise then tax bills for FTBs will go up.

They say it would cost 200,000 FTBs an extra £3,500 on average, and for some it will be up to £11,250, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Gove says: “Labour’s unfunded spending commitments mean they will raise taxes for every working household by £2,094.

Hammering hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers with a massive Stamp Duty increase.”

“That includes hammering hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers with a massive Stamp Duty increase from next April, as well as plans to hit people’s savings with a suite of taxes that will erode the money saved for a deposit.”

First refusal

In response, Labour says it will build more homes, bring in a permanent low deposit mortgage scheme and give FTBs first refusal on new builds.

“Over 14 years the Tories have completely failed on housing, and home ownership has become a pipedream for most working families,” a party spokesman says.

“Rishi Sunak has himself admitted it has become ‘harder’ to own a home under his government.”