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Boris Johnson’s Conservatives pledged to increase the tax paid by foreign buyers of U.K. homes to dampen demand and make it easier for first-time buyers, as the major parties focus on domestic issues ahead of leadership questions on the BBC this evening. It follows Labour’s commitment to build at least 150,000 additional council and social homes per year.
Key Developments:
- The Brexit Party makes a series of policy announcements at 11 a.m.
- Johnson is expected to visit a hospital as part of campaigning ahead of tonight’s BBC broadcast
- Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn visits Stoke as he seeks to increase voter registration ahead of Tuesday’s deadline
- BBC’s Question time program will see Johnson, Corbyn, Liberal Democrat Leader Jo Swinson and Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon each take 30 minutes of questions from a studio audience from 7 p.m.
Farage Calls for Immigration Cut to 50,000 (10:30 a.m.)
Ahead of his Brexit Party’s policy launch this morning, leader Nigel Farage called for immigration to the U.K. to be restricted to 50,000 people per year in what he described as a return to typical postwar levels.
“What I think is very real is that we now have in many ways a population crisis in this country,” Farage told BBC Radio 4. “We had a 60-year postwar norm of about 30,000 to 50,000 people coming into the United Kingdom. That has completely gone out of the window.”
Farage called for an Australian-style points-based immigration system, and said any labor shortages -- including in the state-run National Health Service -- should be managed with temporary work permits.
Experts ‘Wrong’ on Labour Spending Plans: McDonnell (Earlier)
Labour’s economy spokesman John McDonnell defended the party’s plans to raise income and corporation taxes to fund a huge increase in spending if elected. He rejected a claim by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that the tax rises would eventually hit most people, even as Labour said they only target companies and the top 5% of earners.
“I have a great deal of respect for the IFS, of course I do,” he told the BBC. “I just think they’ve got it wrong on this one.” McDonnell said analysts are ignoring other aspects of Labour plans, including companies having employees as board members, and consumers sitting on supervisory boards.
“What we’re saying is with the structural changes we will make in the economy, we’ll make sure that actually the corporations themselves do not take that easy option of cutting wages or rising prices,” he said. “Because we’re democratizing the way these corporations work and are more accountable, they will actually invest in their companies.”
McDonnell said there was little evidence to show cuts to corporation tax under the Conservative Party had boosted investment. Rather, firms are “sitting” on their gains or using them to increase pay for top executives, he said.
Hammond: Size of Tory Majority Will Be Crucial (Earlier)
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said that if the Conservative Party wins the Dec. 12 general election as expected, the size of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s parliamentary majority could determine how Brexit plays out and the U.K.’s future relationship with the European Union.
“The bigger the majority, the more personal authority the prime minister will have, and that means the more he’ll be able to use flexibility to operate in the way that he thinks is in the best interests of the country,” Hammond said in an interview on the sidelines of Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum in Beijing. “If it’s a slim majority, the fear is that the hardliners within the party will always be able to hold the leadership to ransom.”
Hammond said he hopes Johnson will have the authority to deliver Brexit quickly, and then work toward the “best possible trade deal” with the EU. He said the Tory party’s plans to ramp up spending “can stack up -- provided there is a commitment to doing a comprehensive trade deal” with the bloc.
But Labour’s spending plans under Jeremy Corbyn are a different matter, he said, predicting they “would undermine confidence in the economy and would certainly undermine investment.”
Higher Tax for Foreign House Buyers (Earlier)
The Conservative Party plans to introduce a land tax surcharge for foreign buyers of U.K. homes in an effort to damp demand, keep a lid on house prices and make it easier for first-time buyers to get a foot on the housing ladder.
The 3% surcharge -- on top of the existing land tax known as stamp duty -- will raise as much as 120 million pounds ($155 million) a year, which will be put toward programs to help tackle homelessness, the Tories said in an emailed statement.
Read more: Tories Plan Extra Land Tax for Foreign Buyers of U.K. Homes
Earlier:
Corbyn Has a Radical Labour Message. Can He Sell It to Britain?Tories Plan More Tax on Foreign Home-Buyers: U.K. Campaign TrailNever Mind Brexit, U.K. Vote Hinges on Future of the NHSWhy Elections Aren’t a Big Deal For U.K. Polling Stock Up 350%
To contact the reporters on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Andrew Atkinson
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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