After the announcement of yesterday’s Autumn Statement, just under a third of public thought the measures in the statement will do a ‘bad job’ at combating inflation and rising cost of living, a YouGov survey reveals.
The survey of 2896 UK adults found that 19% thought the measures were ‘fairly bad’ and 13% thought they were ‘very bad’.
The poll also found that 2% thought the measures were ‘very good’, while 17% said they were ‘fairly good’ and 48% responded ‘don’t know’.
Of those that thought the measures were ‘fairly bad’, 27% of respondents were labour supporters while 14% were conservatives. Of those in the view of ‘very bad’, 22% were labour and 7% were conservatives
Meanwhile, those that responded ‘don’t know’ there were as many labour supporters as conservative supporters at 43%.
Yesterday chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed that the stamp duty cuts announced in the September mini-Budget will end in early 2025.
Delivering the news during the Autumn Statement, Hunt said that the Office for Budget Responsibility expects housing activity to slow over the next two years, “so the stamp duty cuts announced in the mini-Budget will remain in place, but only until 31 March 2025”.
He added that the measure will be ‘sunset’ after that “creating an incentive to support the housing market, and the jobs associated with it, by boosting transactions during the period the economy most needs it”.
The September stamp duty cuts consisted of the nil-rate band being doubled to £250,000 and the first-time buyer (FTB) threshold increasing to £425,000.
Alongside this, the value of a property on which FTBs can claim relief was upped to £625,000.
One mortgage expert has described the announcement on stamp duty cuts as “a lifeline that will prop up demand during what could be a torrid year for the housing market”.
Quilter mortgage expert Charlotte Nixon says: “We are now living in very different times and even with the stamp duty cut in place house prices are likely still to suffer. If by then the housing market is still not back on its feet the government may choose to extend the cut.”
Together head of introducers Scott Clay says the chancellor “gave fair warning” in the setup of today’s statement, “difficult decisions to keep mortgage rates down were clearly touted with promises of the government and bank working in lockstep to fight inflation and avoid spiralling interest rates”.
“However, with the OBR expecting housing activity to slow significantly next year; the decision to ‘sunset’ stamp duty cuts in March 2025 in a bid to jumpstart the market is short-sighted.”
“While this will likely force FTBs and those looking to move house to jump before they’re pushed and missed out on a good deal; there are swathes of potential homeowners who have been overlooked by this decision.”
