Liberal Democrats Call For Tax Cuts To Help Residents In The Vale

9.10.22am GMT Wed 21st Mar 2007

As Gordon Brown presents his final Budget, Liberal Democrat research reveals that house prices in the Vale have risen from an average of £93,481 in 1996 to £245,180 in 2005.

In 1997 an average house price in the south east was just over 3 times the average income of borrowers, but it has now risen to nearly five times average income.

At the same time repossession orders issued in Oxfordshire have increased by 18% since 2005, to 615, and individual insolvencies in Oxfordshire have increased by over 20%, to 637.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable MP said: "It's inevitable that with the bubble in house prices, rising interest rates, and irresponsible lending, more and more families in Oxfordshire are getting into difficulties with their mortgage.

"One of the fundamental problems at present is there are no safety nets. In the face of redundancy, mortgage borrowers do not have access to benefits for at least nine months.

"We have warned the Chancellor for years about the seriousness of the personal debt problem and the need for a concerted plan of action involving better financial advice and education, debt data pooling and action on irresponsible lending.

"The big issue Brown has failed to address as Chancellor has been the gap between the rich and poor in Britain. At a time when those on low and middle incomes are struggling to pay council tax bills and high energy bills, the chancellor needs to cut their taxes.

"Our top priority for the budget is income tax cuts for low and middle families. The Liberal Democrats would cut 2p off national income tax and raise the thresholds for income tax so that the average family would be £1,500 a year better off. We would pay for it by removing capital gains tax reliefs and increasing environmental taxation."

Abingdon Councillor Mary de Vere said: "This information puts into sharp focus the difficulties faced by many Vale residents in providing a home for their families. The current tax regime does little to help ordinary families affected by ever increasing house prices and the unfair Council Tax. It would be good to see some common sense proposals in the budget tomorrow to benefit Vale residents but I'm not optimistic."