Gregory has condemned reports that the Chancellor is considering sweeping new property taxes, warning that they would hit families, pensioners and first-time buyers across Farnham, Bordon, Haslemere and Liphook.
Speaking in the Commons during an Opposition Day debate, Gregory set out concerns that homeowners could face new annual levies, capital gains tax on primary residences, and even a revaluation of council tax. He argued that these measures would punish aspiration and destabilise the housing market, particularly in the south-east where property values are higher.
Gregory said:
“The Treasury has been flying more kites than we saw at the end of Mary Poppins in the papers over the last few weeks, but if they are genuine, the Chancellor is preparing the most destructive raid on homeowners in living memory.”
He pointed to the pressures already facing local families:
“In Farnham, where the average house price now exceeds £608,000 with the price of detached homes at nearly £900,000, families could face annual bills of nearly £5,000 on top of mortgages, council tax and energy costs.”
Gregory warned that the measures would trap people in their homes, block opportunities for younger buyers, and undermine stability in the housing market:
“This is a tax on the family home, and it will hit hardest those who have worked hard, saved responsibly, and played by the rules… If you tax homes, you tax hope, and that is the surest way in which to drain ambition from our country.”
He added that Labour’s wider tax approach risked “sending political signals rather than supporting families or growing the economy,” pointing to proposals affecting pensioners, small businesses and local schools.
