The Conservatives have announced plans to offer young homebuyers a £5,000 national insurance rebate to assist with their first house purchase, as part of a strategy to “reward work”. Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride is set to unveil the “first-job bonus” in his conference speech, aiming to win over younger voters.
Under the proposal, national insurance payments would initially be diverted into a savings account, which could then be drawn upon when buying a property. The Tories claim this would help 600,000 people per year, with the £2.8 billion cost funded by cuts to the benefits bill and barring foreigners from receiving welfare payments.
Sir Mel will say: “When we deliver the urgent change that is needed to stop young people going straight from school to a life on benefits, we will use those reforms to fund tax cuts which are laser-focused on aspiring young people. Helping people to buy a home, build a family, save for the future. That is the Conservative dream.”
Government minister Miatta Fahnbulleh dismissed the plans as “unserious”, telling Times Radio: “I struggle to take anything the Tories say seriously. They had 14 years in power and in that time they categorically failed to deal with the housing crisis.”
The Conservatives have also promised to save £47 billion through cuts to welfare, foreign aid, and social housing if they return to government. This includes £23 billion from welfare reforms, such as replacing payments for individuals with “low-level” mental health conditions with treatment programmes, and barring non-citizens from claiming state support.
Sir Mel will commit to reversing any changes to the two-child benefit cap and cutting civil service numbers by a quarter, saving £8 billion. The proposals have been welcomed by the Institute for Economic Affairs, but the think tank warned they ignored the “elephant in the room” of age-related spending, such as pensions.
