Tory's answer for first time buyers

David Cameron announced at the Tory's first time buyers' summit that their plan is to have tenants in Council and Housing Association (HA) homes have their rent payments converted into mortgage payments to increase home ownership amongst the poor.

The notion of helping first time buyers onto the ladder is an idea I support but this is not the way to go about it. This will promote a system that is unfair. Their is a large problem with social housing stock. The "right-to-buy" scheme which worked on a similar principle had to be stopped because it was eating up the stock and no doubt made significant contribution to having the housing market skyrocket out of reach the now first time buyers.

This would also put a generation of private tenants in limbo. The rich would be able to buy their homes, the poor would be able to buy their homes (although nothing has been said as to whether this will be at the full price or a discounted price as per "right-to-buy") but the middle earners not entitled to live in a Council or HA home and not able to build a deposit to buy because of the high cost of renting privately would not be able to buy.

The implications on education of this plan seems to be unthought-of as well. Britain is suffering a skills shortage that if it wasn't being plugged by sapping skilled workers away from poorer countries would likely have our economy hitting a severe downtown.

The message that will come from this scheme to children in education is that it doesn't matter. Only if you super-achieve will learning be worthwhile. If you do poorly, you will be better off than those that just do well.

I was worried that once the Tory's have had their bedding in time with the new leader who had taken a lead over Labour in the polls that they would ruin in by producing poor policies. Looks like my concern was warranted.

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