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Mortgage industry ‘front and centre’ of political debate – Cicero

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  • 07/11/2013
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Mortgage industry ‘front and centre’ of political debate – Cicero
Mortgage professionals will find themselves “firmly in the spotlight” as the cost of living debate gains momentum, a political communication consultant has warned.

Speaking at the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ annual conference, Cicero director Iain Anderson said Labour’s cost of living campaign was unlikely to cease before the next election and would spread beyond the debate over energy prices.

He said: “It will put the housing and the mortgage market firmly in the spotlight. This womn’t just be about the exits for government-supported schemes but also about interest rates. That is going to be fundamental to the next election.”

The way the industry delivered the Help to Buy scheme was crucial, he stressed: “If there are lots of cases of this being declined you can expect the politicians to be pointing the finger at you guys. That is the way it works.

“You cannot underestimate the fact you are absolutely front and centre in terms of the political debate right now.”

Politicians were hesitant to act on Stamp Duty, Anderson added, but both the Liberal Democrats and Labour were likely to advocate a mansion tax in the run up to the next election.

Having initially opposed Help to Buy, Labour will find it hard to move from that position, he said, while there are clear tensions within the Coalition over the merits of Help to Buy: “The lending sector has to be very aware of just that.”

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