General Election 2015: Ed Miliband promises £5bn for 125,000 new homes funded by Help to Buy ISA
Ed Miliband has promised billions of pounds of funding to build 125,000 new homes over the next five years.
The policy, due to be announced by the Labour party today, is based on the Help to Buy ISA revealed by Chancellor George Osborne in the latest Budget and aimed at getting first-time buyers on the property ladder.
Labour will ensure the money saved by potential buyers in the new ISA will be used by banks for funding the building of new homes.
The Future Homes Fund will build on the Conservative's Help to Buy ISA, which promises and additional £50 from the government for every £200 saved, up to a maximum of £3000.
Labour said the fund would unlock £5bn of funding for building 125,000 new homes between 2015 and 2020, underwritten by a Labour government and the policy would kickstart its commitment to build 200,000 homes a year.
The Conservatives yesterday hailed the success of its Help to Buy initiative, revealing more than 50,000 people have signed up to its extended Help to Buy scheme, launched last month.
The Help to Buy ISA has been criticised by economists and experts who have warned it could fuel further house price rises.