Boris Johnson’s Conservatives are trying to woo voters with a pledge to slap a land tax surcharge on foreign buyers of U.K. homes -- a measure the party suggested would dampen demand and make it easier for first-time buyers to enter the market.
After a week of manifesto launches, the policy -- which the Tories estimate will reap 120 million pounds ($155 million) a year -- is relatively marginal financially. The Liberal Democrats late Thursday unveiled a pledge to build 300,000 new homes per year -- including 100,000 for social housing. Labour, for its part, unveiled a pledge to build at least an additional 150,000 council and social homes per year when it published its manifesto on Thursday.
ELEC for more on the U.K. election
Coming up:
- The Brexit Party is due to make a series of policy announcements at 11 a.m.
- Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn will visit Stoke as his party makes a voter registration drive ahead of Tuesday’s deadline
- Welsh nationalist Plaid Cymru Party Leader Adam Price will launch his party’s manifesto at 10 a.m. in Nantgarw, Wales
- From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., BBC’s Question time program will see four party leaders each get half an hour of questions from a studio audience. They are: Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, Liberal Democrat Leader Jo Swinson and Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon
The Polls:
- An Ipsos Mori poll for the Evening standard put the Tories on 44%, Labour on 28%, the Liberal Democrats on 16% and the Brexit Party on 3%
- Here’s a summary of recent polls.
Catching Up:
- Labour’s Corbyn hits the rich with tax hikes
- Forget Brexit: the election hinges on health care
- Hammond says worst outcome would be very small Tory majority government
- Private banker on London hiring spree dismisses Corbyn threat
- Corbyn accused of masking true cost of manifesto, Telegraph reports
- Key proposals from Labour Party’s manifesto
- Labour pledged a $108 billion boost if it wins the election
- Labour plans windfall tax on oil
The Markets:
- Bets on a strong pound are getting in the way of further strengthening
- All the markets can see is a Tory win on Dec. 12.
- The pound was trading little changed at $1.2926 at 6:25 a.m. in London
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