UK Prime Minister Theresa May heads to Wokingham to promote stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers

The Prime Minister will today head to Wokingham to promote her government’s decision to cut stamp duty for first-time buyers.

In the Autumn Budget, Philip Hammond scrapped stamp duty for first-time buyers purchasing homes worth up to £300,000. In London, first-time buyers also receive a stamp duty holiday for the first £300,000 on purchases worth up to £500,000.

Read more: Why the stamp duty cut is no more than a short term fix

The government has estimated that 16,000 first-time buyers have already benefited from the change, and says that over the next five years more than one million buyers will make thousands in savings.

Today, May will meet with one person who has benefited from the stamp duty cut to talk about the policy.

May said: “I have made it my personal mission to build the homes this country needs so we can restore the dream of home ownership for people up and down the UK.

“We are building a Britain that is fit for the future and our message to the next generation is this – getting on – and climbing up – the housing ladder is not just a dream of your parents’ past, but a reality for your future.”

Read more: The 10 locations where property prices increased most in 2017

John Healey, Labour’s shadow housing secretary, said cutting stamp duty without ensuring more homes are built will push up prices.

“After almost eight years of Conservative failure on housing, homelessness has doubled, home-ownership has fallen to a 30-year low and the number of new social rented homes is at the lowest level since records began,” he said.