Labour vow to cap buy-up of UK property by foreign investors

Labour will outline plans to cap how much property overseas investors can buy in new developments.

At its annual conference in Brighton later this week, they will propose changing England’s planning rules, so that half of homes in new developments cannot be purchased by foreign investors.

They will also vow to grant first-time buyers “first dibs” on new builds for six months.

Shadow housing secretary Lucy Powell is scheduled to give a speech on the proposals for “more truly affordable homes” on Sunday.

She is expected to accuse the Conservatives of becoming the “party of speculators and developers”, treating property “as a commodity, not the bedrock of stable lives and life chances” and will claim that Labour are the “party of home ownership”.

A Conservative spokesman said Ms Powell’s upcoming speech “amounts to a series of rehashed and failed policies from Jeremy Corbyn or Sadiq Khan”.

He went on: “It once again goes to show Labour under Keir Starmer have absolutely nothing new to offer our country”.