Knocking on doors in Bordon recently, I spoke with a constituent who raised an interesting point about homeownership – the old Mortgage Interest Relief (MIRAS) scheme, introduced by the Conservatives in the 1980s and abolished by New Labour, which gave homeowners tax relief on mortgage payments.

While MIRAS had its flaws, that conversation has prompted a question: how will this government actually make homeownership more achievable?

After the pandemic, then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak introduced a mortgage guarantee scheme to stabilise the market, supporting 95 percent mortgages and helping first-time buyers. That scheme was always designed as a temporary support. Yet now, Labour has confirmed it will repurpose and permanently extend this post-Covid tool – a major shift in policy direction.

So what does this mean for the young people across our area so eager to get on the housing ladder? With new homes going up in Farnham, such as the Coxbridge Farm site, across Bordon’s new town, Haslemere, Liphook and our villages, it’s a question I hear again and again – from hopeful young buyers and their parents alike.

Yes, mortgage guarantee schemes do help lower the deposit barrier and reduce lender risk. But they are not a silver bullet. Labour’s decision to turn a short-term economic support into its flagship housing policy undoubtedly brings risks. Where Sunak used this scheme to steady a market in crisis, Labour is now using the same fiscal mechanism to try and transform Britain’s entire housing sector – permanently.

But you cannot fix affordability by simply making borrowing easier. Labour’s promise to build 1.5 million homes has already prompted serious concern from industry figures, who question whether the target is even deliverable. Something as fundamental as brick supply – including kiln capacity – has already been raised as a bottleneck, while the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is further delaying new housing in urban areas.

And of course, none of this addresses the elephant in the room: infrastructure. Hiking housing targets without a proper plan for roads, schools, or utilities is disastrously short-sighted and unsustainable.

This is where Labour’s plan begins to unravel. If housebuilding fails to keep pace, a permanent mortgage guarantee risks fuelling house price inflation – especially in higher-demand areas like Surrey and Hampshire. And while the Government claims there’s a ‘fixed’ £3.2 billion cap on liability, that could easily be raised or removed under pressure – and with Labour’s majority, there would be little to stop them.

And crucially, if house prices falter, buyers taking out 95 percent mortgages – many of them young, aspirational, and financially stretched – could even find themselves in negative equity. That is not just a macroeconomic risk, but a personal one, and the Government has said nothing about how it plans to manage that.

I want to see more young people get on the housing ladder. But Labour’s approach puts taxpayers on the hook indefinitely, while relying on the biggest housebuilding target in recent memory – and offering no clear plan for how they’ll get there.