Stamp Duty Land Tax

Liz Jarvis Excerpts

Tuesday 28th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Jarvis (Eastleigh) (LD)]

Stamp duty land tax is one of the most unfair and outdated taxes in our system. It punishes aspiration, locks people out of home ownership and blocks up the housing market. I have heard from constituents who are first-time buyers struggling to get a foothold on the housing ladder because of the amount of stamp duty they are expected to pay. Eastleigh’s Liberal Democrat-run borough council has a strong record of building homes to meet local demand, but according to the Office for National Statistics, the average price of a house in Eastleigh is still £313,000, which is unaffordable for many.

It is simply wrong that the dream of home ownership has drifted so far out of reach of so many people. My constituent Tom and his wife are a young couple who have spent the past two years desperately trying to buy their first home. In the haste to get the purchase through before the end of the stamp duty holiday, they missed key checks and accepted extra costs just to complete the purchase. As someone who grew up in rented accommodation, with everything that goes with it, I find it so incredibly disappointing that, at a time when we should be doing everything possible to make home ownership accessible, the system instead creates obstacles for those simply trying to put down roots and start a family in a home of their own.

As we know, there is a housing crisis. The private rental market is expensive and insecure, far too few homes are available for social rent and poor-quality housing is damaging people’s health. The Government must tackle the root causes by increasing the building of new homes to 380,000 a year, including 150,000 social homes a year, ensuring that every community has access to secure and genuinely affordable housing.

The entire system of property taxation from council tax to stamp duty is wholly unfit for purpose. Reforms must be fair, comprehensive and forward looking. That means setting out a clear plan, not an uncosted headline or a short-term Treasury grab. I hope the Government will replace this outdated, unfair tax with a modern, more efficient system that supports social mobility and economic growth, and that reignites the dream of home ownership for all generations, but I am afraid I will not be supporting this ill-thought-out and uncosted motion.