Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured) has pledged that Labour will endeavour to make long-term fixed rates a larger part of the mortgage market, a report has said.
Speaking to The Times, Reeves said that a long-term fixed rate would allow people to buy houses with smaller deposits and with lower monthly repayments.
Long-term fixed rate products would also make stress tests “redundant”, allow people to borrow more and remove volatility from mortgage payments.
In the interview, Reeves said that she had asked for a Labour review of financial services to work with the mortgage industry to address regulatory barriers and facilitate a cultural shift away from short-term fixed rates and make long-term fixed rate deals a larger part of the market.
She said that she would not want taxpayers to underwrite lenders to offer long-term fixed rates, as is done in other countries.
Reeves added that Labour would support any cuts to income tax introduced in the Spring Budget and it would not support cuts to inheritance tax and would not raise taxes beyond what has already been announced.
She ruled out wealth taxes, increases in income tax thresholds or capital gains tax.
Reeves also suggested she may row back slightly on one of its flagship pledges to invest £28bn a year into green infrastructure.
She added that it was likely that public spending would rise by one per cent overall from 2025, which could lead to cuts to certain departments.
Reeves said that she would go ahead with plans to impose VAT and business rates on private schools.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
