The government's flagship Help to Buy mortgage guarantee
scheme has united economists in condemnation, according to one leading expert. Jonathan Portes, director at the National Institute of
Economic and Social Research and former chief economist at the DWP, told
delegates at the Chartered Institute of Housing conference that the £12bn
scheme would inflate house prices without boosting supply. "Help to Buy has one real achievement,
which is often thought to be impossible," he said. "It has managed to
unite every single economist I know. It is a policy which has managed to unite
the entire economics profession in condemnation as a policy which is likely to
push up demand while achieving virtually nothing on supply. It is a backhanded
compliment to the government to say they have managed to achieve
this." Read more on the Guardian
website.
