Dad confronts Sunak for destroying daughter’s ‘hopes and goals’ of shopping for dwelling

Rishi Sunak was confronted by a dad who accused the Tories of destroying his daughter’s “hopes and dreams” of buying a house.

Ian, a retired teacher from Grimsby, said his 19-year-old daughter and other youngsters had been left in the lurch by Liz Truss’s mortgage bombshell and the housing crisis.

In a Q&A session during the Sky News ‘Battle for No10’, Ian told the Prime Minister: “Following Liz Truss’s disastrous mini Budget and it’s unfunded tax cuts, mortgages have become much less affordable, particularly for young people such as my daughter.

“Why has the Government spoilt their hopes and dreams? And how do we know you won’t do it again?”

His questions drew applause from the audience, which had heckled and booed the Prime Minister during his interview.

Mr Sunak asked if his daughter had a mortgage or was trying to buy a home.

Ian retorted: “She was kind of hoping to buy a home before you put the mortgage rates up and you failed to meet your housing targets, and she’s struggling to find a property that she can afford.”

The PM said he wanted everyone to be able to afford their own home and argued that the best way to do that was to drive down interest rates.

“As you can see, inflation is down from 11% back to normal, so hopefully we’re on the right path then and you will see that reflected in mortgages.”

Mr Sunak said the Tories had promised to abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers on up to £425,000, to which Ian interrupted: “I don’t think she was thinking of buying a house that expensive.”

The PM replied: “It’s for everyone up to that amount”. He insisted it would be possible to cut taxes and build more homes if the Tories won the election.

The clash came as the audience tore the Prime Minister apart over Tory chaos and broken promises. He was confronted by a junior doctor over the state of the NHS and by a former Tory chair over his decision to skip out on D-Day commemorations and to break Covid rules when the Queen was left to attend Prince Philip’s funeral alone in 2021.

“That’s where the trust broke down,” the woman called Amy said. “And I just think we have long memories in this country as a public.

“I appreciate the apology tonight, thank you very much, but you have to realise that there is a long way to go to really rebuild that.”