Your Voice, Your Vote: Helping a first-time buyer
Kelsey Wheatley said "no way I can afford a mortgage on my income alone"
- Published
Kelsey Wheatley lives with her parents and wants to move to her own home, but says she cannot afford it with the current house prices.
The 25-year-old from Wootton in Northamptonshire says she has a deposit but is unable to afford a mortgage.
She is among the many people who got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote to tell us that housing is the most important issue for them in this election.
Ms Wheatley says: "The issue I have is there is no way I can afford a mortgage on my income alone."
Kelsey Wheatley wants more help to buy a home
She says that renting is a "waste of money" and wants to own her own home.
"I earn the national living wage and house prices in my area are around the times more than I would be able to borrow," she says.
"All I can see from the parties is they are only willing to help people who don't have a deposit.
"What are they doing to help those who do have a deposit, but still see no chance of getting on the housing ladder?"
In alphabetical order by surname, here is what the candidates from the main parties standing in Northampton South said:
Jill Hope, Liberal Democrats
Jill Hope is standing for the Liberal Democrats in Northampton South
This situation has arisen because of a failure to build enough new homes over many years. Our housing policy deals with this underlying issue by increasing housebuilding to 380,000 homes across the UK through a raft of many different measures and including 150,000 social homes within this figure.
Clearly the current overly high price of houses is closely connected to the under-supply of houses over many years. The price of housing is driving up the price of rental properties, so everyone is affected not just homeowners.
Many people can't even hope to raise a deposit, so one of our policies is a new rent-to-own model for social housing whereby rent payments give tenants an increasing stake in the property, owning it outright after 30 years.
Andrew Lewer, Conservative
The Conservative candidate in Northampton South is Andrew Lewer
Housing has been a top priority for me in my seven years as Northampton South's MP, both locally and in Parliament.
The Conservative Party Manifesto pledges to deliver an improved Help to Buy scheme for first time buyers, assistance with deposits and a permanently higher stamp duty threshold, easing the tax burden on those looking to buy a home.
But specific support for challenges such as that faced by the constituent you refer to needs to go along with a dramatic increase in housing supply and a reduction in migration.
There is, therefore, also a pledge to deliver 1,600,000 new homes in the next Parliament and to cut back net migration numbers significantly.
Anthony Owens, Reform UK
Anthony Owens is representing Reform UK in the general election
The United Kingdom population has increased by 1.3 million in just two years. Unfortunately, only 425,000 homes have been built. The forecast of population growth of nearly seven million between 2021 and 2036, putting massive pressure on the current housing market.
There is an urgent need to review the current planning system to fast-track planning and tax incentives of brownfield sites to include vacant properties, whilst ensuring infrastructure is there to support increase in housing.
We would look to incentivise use of new construction technology to create more affordable homes. Increasing the tax threshold from £12,500 to £20,000 and scrapping VAT on energy bills, lowering fuel duty by 20p per litre and scrapping environmental levies, would put more money in her pocket.
We would also cut residential stamp duty to 0% below £750,000 potentially saving her costs on purchasing a property.
Mike Reader, Labour
The Labour candidate in Northampton South is Mike Reader
I'm committed to helping first-time buyers and increasing affordable housing in Northampton.
As someone who lives in the town, I know we desperately need more affordable housing here.
Labour will introduce a comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme to help those with smaller deposits access lower-cost mortgages.
We'll prioritise first-time buyers for new developments and will focus housebuilding on grey-field sites, such as the Greyfriars bus station site and waterside enterprise zone by the train station.
In Northampton, our reforms will give people the best chance of getting on the ladder while also boosting the supply of affordable homes.
Katie Simpson, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Katie Simpson is standing for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC)
The prospect of home ownership is moving further out of reach for ordinary people. TUSC candidates call to stop council estate sell-offs and for councils to build high-standard, eco-friendly, affordable council housing.
I believe this needs to be on a mass scale to meet the needs of the people of Northampton.
The mortgage crisis has been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis. I call for affordable mortgages to nationalise the banks to be run under democratic workers' control and management.
Landlords should be forced to sell or let their properties within the year or have them taken into public control to be renovated and used for council housing.
Socialist Party members have consistently called for and fought for wage increases above inflation. For any companies who cannot meet this basic demand to be brought into public ownership or subsidised based on proven need.
Simon Sneddon from the Green Party and Penelope Lucy Tollitt from the Climate Party are also standing and have been asked to respond to Ms Wheatley's question.
The Green Party has said "local authorities and national government need to work together to deliver homes people can afford to rent or buy, where people need them".
It added: "Our Right Homes, Right Place, Right Price Charter will simultaneously protect valuable green space for communities, reduce climate emissions, tackle fuel poverty and provide genuinely affordable housing."
The Climate Party has pledged to " support the construction industry in the rapid retrofitting of Britain’s homes and other buildings, to reduce people’s energy costs".
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