Theresa May’s former director of policy has called for the introduction of a ringfenced tax to help to ease the generation gap in housing equity.
John Godfrey, who was head of the prime minister’s influential policy unit from July 2016 to June last year, referenced the equity that older generations hold in their homes at a time of an acute housing crisis for younger people.
Three quarters of housing wealth in Britain is held by the over-50s, according to a recent report by Savills, the estate agent, equating to £2.8tn of equity. The over-65s own 43% of housing wealth, amounting to £1.6tn.
