Liberal Democrats bid to woo young voters with loans to leave home

Young people still living with their parents could get a loan of up to £2,000 to help them move out under plans unveiled in the Liberal Democrat manifesto today.

The proposal aimed at “Generation rent” would go towards rental deposits, which in the capital have soared to an average of £1,800.

Senior Lib Dem Sir Simon Hughes, who is the candidate for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, said: “Too many Londoners are being left behind by our broken housing market.

“The market has failed to deliver, which is why we are setting out radical plans to help those being priced out of renting their own home.”

In London 325,000 people in their twenties and thirties still live at home, according to charity Shelter.

This is the highest rate of adults living with their parents since 1996.

The government-backed loans would be for the under-thirties, paid back in instalments over a period of 12 or 24 months, and interest would be pegged to the cost of government borrowing, which is currently 1.14 per cent.

The £50 million policy is part of a package of promises made to young people in an attempt by the party to win back younger voters and offer more than their well-vocalised opposition to Brexit.

At his manifesto launch in East London tonight Lib Dem leader Tim Farron will also unveil their flagship rent-to-own initiative. This would see monthly rents used like a mortgage with working tenants owning their own home over a 30-year period.

They would also restore the housing benefit entitlement for 18 to 21-year-olds and like Labour they would reduce the voting age to 16. An extension to the popular pupil premium payment for the most disadvantaged under-fives is another policy aimed at “giving children a brighter future”, according to their manifesto.

Their pledge to increase the payment to £1,000 per pupil per year would give an extra £20 million for the capital’s nurseries and childcare providers.

Early years pupil premium spending would also triple in Twickenham, Kingston and Sutton, where the Lib Dems are hoping to win back the seats they lost to the Tories at the last election.

The party has ruled out plans to scrap tuition fees, instead planning to restore maintenance grants.

The Lib Dems have claimed they are a “pro-choice” party after it emerged leader Tim Farron said abortion was “wrong” in a decade-old interview.

Election spokesman Sir Ed Davey told the BBC: “Tim has made very clear he has changed his mind. He’s made it clear that he is pro-choice and the Liberal Democrats believe that women should have the right to choose.”