Broker urges incoming Labour leader to tackle first-time buyer stamp duty and press the Bank of England on rate policy
Andy Burnham is facing calls to take "bold action" on stamp duty and interest rate policy as he prepares to take over as Labour leader and prime minister.
Nouran Moustafa (pictured top), executive financial and mortgage adviser at Roxton Wealth in London, said the incoming leadership needs to move quickly on the issues affecting mortgage borrowers.
Burnham returned to the House of Commons after winning the Makerfield by-election in June. He is currently the sole declared candidate in the Labour leadership contest triggered by Sir Keir Starmer's resignation, with nominations closing on 16 July. If he remains unopposed, Burnham is expected to be confirmed as Labour leader and prime minister around 17 July.
Moustafa told Mortgage Introducer Burnham faces a difficult inheritance rather than a straightforward opportunity, given the scale of the challenges awaiting him in Downing Street.
"To be honest with you, I think Andy Burnham is in a very hard position, I don't think it's like flowers and dreams for him," she said. "People think Burnham is in one of the worst positions because it's the last shot for the public, with demands directly for Reform UK or Restore Britain to come into power. It's genuinely a last shot."
Moustafa said she believes the public mood will not tolerate delay, adding that the new leadership needs to move quickly on the issues affecting mortgage borrowers rather than repeat what she characterised as a pattern of promises without action under the outgoing administration.
Why is the base rate a priority for mortgage brokers?
Moustafa said her first ask of the incoming prime minister concerns the Bank of England's approach to interest rates. The Bank has held its base rate at 3.75% since December, maintaining that level at its most recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting on 18 June, with its next decision due on 30 July.
"Burnham needs to allow the Bank of England to adjust the base rate to match inflation and do what's right for the economy," she said. "He needs to allow the Bank of England to do the real bold movements that we need, because there is no point of having the Bank of England base rate at 3.75% when no bank is lending money under 4%. There is no point of having very nice base rates when you have inflation exploding."
Her comments reflect a broader concern among brokers that the gap between the base rate and the rates lenders actually offer borrowers has widened, weakening the transmission of monetary policy into mortgage pricing. UK inflation stood at 2.8% as of the Bank's most recent published assessment, above its 2% target, with the Bank citing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and its effect on energy prices as a key source of uncertainty going into the summer.
What stamp duty changes are brokers calling for?
Moustafa also called for stamp duty reform aimed specifically at first-time buyers and was critical of changes made under the outgoing government.
"Reforms in terms of lowering the stamp duty for first-time buyers and reversing what Rachel Reeves did as chancellor is very welcome," she said. "He needs to take bold action in terms of the first-time buyers, stamp duty and what she has done to the market."
Reeves reduced the zero-rate stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers from £425,000 to £300,000 when temporary relief expired in April 2025. According to Rightmove analysis, that change has since added an average of £4,618 to first-time buyer costs in England, with London accounting for 53% of the estimated £307 million paid in additional tax nationally.
Moustafa added that regulation across financial services and banking more broadly should also be reviewed under the incoming leadership.
Is the market better served by a reactive or proactive approach?
Asked what else was troubling brokers as the leadership transition plays out, Moustafa argued the industry would be better served by government predictability rather than sudden policy shifts, given the uncertainty already facing the sector this year.
"I think we need to be more reactive and less proactive," she said. "See what the new government would do and then we take it from there, because they are unpredictable. The government needs to be predictable. We need to stop these sorts of surprise boxes that we are waiting for every day. We genuinely need to stop that."
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