Boris Johnson set to announce extension of right to buy

Boris Johnson will announce new measures to help people to get on to the property ladder during a speech in which he pledges to hard-pressed UK households that “things will get better”.

The prime minister will set out the plans during a speech in Lancashire on Thursday that will also commit him to reforms in the coming weeks to help people cut costs across the board, “from food to energy to childcare to transport and housing”.

The reforms come as Mr Johnson seeks to reassert his authority after 41% of his MPs rebelled in a confidence vote after weeks of revelations about Downing Street parties.

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The prime minister wants to draw a line under the revolt and show that he is focusing on big issues such as the cost of living crisis while outlining a broader ambition to cut taxes as well reversing a decline in levels of home ownership.

The government argues that “too many people are spending huge sums of money in the private rental market when that money could be better spent on investing in their futures, in the form of mortgage payments on their own home”.

That chimes with comments from Michael Gove, the levelling up, housing and communities secretary, after the Tories’ poor showing in recent local elections, arguing that voters were punishing the government on the issue.

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Before his speech, Downing Street said Mr Johnson would “confirm his ambition to unlock the opportunity of home ownership for more people”.

The aim will be to achieve that “through helping those in a position to buy, to access the mortgage finance they need, ensuring people are incentivised to save for a deposit no matter their financial situation, and improving the supply of housing across the country”.

It is understood the speech will include confirmation of plans to give tenants of housing association properties the right to buy their homes.

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Similar plans have previously been raised by the Conservatives at the 2015 and 2019 general elections.

The speech comes at a time when inflation has surged to a four-decade high, partly as a result of the Ukraine war and its knock-on effects on energy and other commodity markets.

At the same time, the economy is set to stagnate – with the OECD forecasting on Wednesday that the UK was poised for the weakest growth in the developed world next year.

Mr Johnson will say: “We have the tools we need to get on top of rising prices.

“The global headwinds are strong. But our engines are stronger.

“And, while it’s not going to be quick or easy, you can be confident that things will get better, that we will emerge from this a strong country with a healthy economy.

“Over the next few weeks, the government will be setting out reforms to help people cut costs in every area of household expenditure, from food to energy to childcare to transport and housing.”

Mr Johnson will commit the government to “continue to use our fiscal firepower to help the country through tough times”.

That pledge will come only a few weeks after a £15bn new package of cost of living support announced by the chancellor took the total level of funding to try to mitigate the squeeze on households this year to £37bn.

“At the same time we will use this moment to accelerate the reforming mission of the government, to cut the costs that government imposes on businesses and people up and down the country,” the prime minister will say.

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