A future Conservative government would work with mortgage lenders to help first-time buyers to get on to the housing ladder, shadow housing minister John Hayes has promised. This would be done through an extension of shared equity schemes whereby first-time buyers purchase only a proportion of the value of the property – two-thirds, for example – while the remainder is held by the lender. Mr Hayes also said that the Conservatives would give more power to local authorities over planning.
Conservative local government spokeswoman Caroline Spelman has said in an interview that the Conservatives might consider restoring some elements of the poll tax as part of a programme of local government finance reform. Explaining her comments, Mrs Spelman said that the Conservatives remained committed to a property-based form of local taxation, but would consider levying the tax on individuals, like the poll tax, rather than households. The only option she ruled out was a local income tax.
Michael Howard has called on all immigrants to learn English, saying “it is important that people who come here to live and work learn the language of the nation”.