Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride has outlined plans to help young people get on the housing ladder with a £5,000 tax rebate which he said would ‘reward work’ and could benefit up to 600,000 young people.
In a speech at the Conservative Party Conference on Monday, Sir Stride outlined plans for the ‘first job bonus’, which would divert the National Insurance payments of British nationals into a long-term savings account to be used against a house deposit or ‘savings for later life’.
The savings could be used at any time to purchase a property, or eligible for withdrawal for any other purpose after five years. Following the speech, the Conservative party clarified it would not restrict how the money could be spent after withdrawal.
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, said any support aimed at helping young people onto the housing ladder is welcome, but was sceptical about the impact of the scheme.
‘A £5,000 rebate could provide a meaningful boost toward a first home, especially for those without access to family financial support’, he acknowledged.
“However, this policy must be seen in the wider context. Without addressing the underlying issues of housing supply, affordability, and wage stagnation, incentives like these risk being a short-term fix rather than a long-term solution. The focus must be on ensuring that such measures are backed by substantial investment in affordable housing, planning reform, and a more stable economic outlook for young people entering the workforce.”
