John HealeyMP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing and Planning, commenting on the release of new ONS house price statistics for April 2016 said:

“These figures show an eye-watering 9.3 percent rise in house prices for first time buyers in the last year alone, far outstripping wage growth.

“After six years of failure on housing it’s clear the pressures facing first-time buyers on ordinary incomes are getting worse across the board. The number of home-owners under 35 has fallen by a third of a million since David Cameron became Prime Minister. Conservative policies are failing to help those who need it.

“This failure of Conservative Ministers across the board on housing makes the £1 billion of funding we’re set to receive from the European Investment Bank even more important, and is another reason why Britain is better off in the European Union.”

ENDS