Harriett Baldwin, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for West Worcestershire is backing the Conservative campaign for the stamp duty threshold to be raised to £250,000 for first-time buyers. The current national stamp duty threshold is just £125,000, which means Gordon Brown is cashing in from house price inflation. As house prices edge up, more and more people are caught in Brown's stamp duty trap.
- Average flat hits £143,748 in Malvern Hills: New official statistics show that that the average flat in England now costs over £200,000. In Malvern Hills District, the average flat is also over the current national threshold at £143,748, while in Wychavon it is £127,374. The detailed figures from the Land Registry show record prices for flats across the country - and the vast number of flats which are now liable for stamp duty. Under Conservative proposals, first-time buyers buying an ordinary flat would not pay stamp duty in Malvern Hills or Wychavon.
Harriett Baldwin said:
"The average flat in Malvern Hills now costs an unaffordable £143,748. If we want our children to be able to stay in the area when they grow up, housing for first time buyers needs to be more affordable. Let's raise the stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers in particular. Gordon Brown's stealth tax rises, from stamp duty to inheritance tax to council tax, are all making home ownership harder and harder for more and more people.
"Conservatives recognise the importance of affordable homes in providing the bedrock of stable, safe and green communities. We will make it easier to get on, and move up, the home ladder."