Last
week I attended the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. The mood was
very positive although everyone recognises that there are further difficult
decisions to take to get our country back on its feet. As DEFRA minister,
I took part in a number of meetings relating to food and animal welfare. There was a well-attended fringe event on the problem of
irresponsible back street dog breeders which has been an issue I have
championed since becoming an MP
However,
the highlight of conference, as always, was the Prime Minister’s speech, where
he set out his plans to tackle poverty and boost social mobility. Before
becoming an MP, I worked for David Cameron as his Press Secretary at a time
when he was trying to develop new policies to tackle the country’s social
problems. However, due to the economic crisis in 2008, some of these ideas had
to be put to one side as he turned his priority to getting the country’s
finances in order. This required the Government to make hard, often unpopular
decisions. However, with the economy now back on track, the Prime
Minister has signalled a return to the reforming agenda he outlined a decade
ago.
Part
of his speech was dedicated to helping young families buy their first
home. This is really important in Cornwall. There have been some
schemes such as Help to Buy where the Government has provided financial help
for those who don't have the huge deposits that most mortgage companies demand
before offering a loan. However, it does not help all. I frequently
come across hard working people who still cannot raise a mortgage because their
income is judged too low to afford mortgage repayments even though their rental
payments are even higher. It is incredibly frustrating for them.
There are some other models such as shared ownership that can help but the
announcement of a major increase in new housing that is "affordable to
buy" where local first time buyers are able to purchase properties at a
discount to the open market price will help many more local families.
