UK Edition
Exclusive: Boris Johnson vows to put 'Generation Buy' on the housing ladder
In a wide-ranging interview, the PM defends his Covid restrictions, says he's confident of a Brexit deal – and reveals his weight loss tips
Boris Johnson has promised to create "Generation Buy" with low-deposit mortgages to help get young people onto the housing ladder.
The Prime Minister said he would "fix" the problem of unaffordable deposits that has caused millions of people to put their dreams of home ownership on hold.
Mr Johnson told The Telegraph ahead of the virtual Conservative Party conference that he was determined to press ahead with a "massive domestic agenda" and deliver on manifesto promises, despite the coronavirus crisis.
He also insisted he remained a low-tax, libertarian Conservative who would pay for the cost of the pandemic through a "free market-led recovery" and dismissed talk of rivalry between him and Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, as "untrue".
In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Johnson also addressed criticism of his Covid restrictions by saying there was a "moral imperative" to save lives, as well as discussing the chances of a Brexit deal and revealing how he gets his baby son Wilfred to sleep.
Speaking in his Downing Street office, the Prime Minister outlined his plans for a successor to Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy policy as he explained how he would solve the problem of "Generation Rent".
He said: "I think a huge, huge number of people feel totally excluded from capitalism, from the idea of home ownership, which is so vital for our society. And we're going to fix that – 'Generation Buy' is what we're going for."
More than two million people who are comfortably able to afford mortgage repayments are locked out of the housing market because they cannot save up for deposits, which typically run to 15 or 20 per cent of a property's value.
Mr Johnson has asked ministers to work up plans for encouraging long-term fixed-rate mortgages with five per cent deposits. They are likely to involve reversing regulatory changes made in the wake of the financial crash that have required banks to stress-test applicants. By removing stress tests, banks would be able to offer 95 per cent loans, as was the norm 15 years ago.
It is understood that the Government could also accept some of the risk through a form of state guarantee to give lenders additional confidence.
Mr Johnson said: "We need mortgages that will help people really get on the housing ladder even if they have only a very small amount to pay by way of deposit, the 95 per cent mortgages. I think it could be absolutely revolutionary, particularly for young people."
'Am I still a low-tax Conservative? Totally'
The cost of coronavirus – £317 billion and counting – and Mr Sunak's warnings that "tough choices" will have to be made about how it is paid for, have led to questions over the Government's commitment to a low-tax economy, one of the foundation stones of Conservatism.
Asked whether he was still a "libertarian, low-tax conservative", Mr Johnson replied: "Yes, totally. There will be lots of people at the conclusion of this episode who will say that we've got to keep the state taking and spending 45 or 50 per cent of GDP, who will say that we've got to keep the state paying people's wages... wanting the furlough scheme to be extended indefinitely.
"Lots of people will draw entirely the wrong conclusions from this and it will be this Government that will be laying the foundations for a strong, dynamic, free market-led economic recovery. That's what this country needs, and I'm absolutely sure that's what this country is going to see."
'Rishi Sunak and I are as one'
The Chancellor's divergence from No 10 in his coronavirus messaging – telling the country it was time to "live without fear" while Mr Johnson was imposing more restrictions – has triggered widespread reports of growing tensions between the Downing Street neighbours.
Speaking for the first time about the rumours, Mr Johnson dismissed the idea that Mr Sunak was now his rival, saying such reports were "genuinely untrue" and added: "We are as one, ad idem. I think it's pretty fair to say there's a one-team approach between Number 10 and Number 11.
"I have a fantastic Cabinet and huge admiration for the Chancellor, and indeed all other members of the Government. They're doing an outstanding job."
'A moral imperative to save life where you can'
Mr Johnson is acutely aware that his coronavirus strategy of lockdowns, pub curfews, social barriers and working from home is not universally popular.
"I totally understand that," he said. "We have to face the reality that this is still a lethal virus, and I very much sympathise with people who chafe at the restrictions.
"I think everybody is fed up – I just urge people to be a little bit patient. We will get through it and we will save a load of lives, and that's really the best I can say. I think there is a moral imperative to save life where you can."
Stung, perhaps, by criticism that he has over-promised and under-delivered on so-called "game-changing" scientific advances in the fight against Covid-19, he declined to give any update on his "Moonshot" testing programme, saying he did not want "to give any further hostages to fortune on where we're going with any of the science".
He could not, however, hold back when it came to his unshakable belief that better times would soon come, saying: "It's been a very bumpy period but, if you ask me am I optimistic about this country's ability to come back and this country's natural resilience, my confidence is boundless, absolutely boundless.
"We're seeing some signs of real economic robustness in some of the data, but it will take time. This has been a once-in-a-century event."
A glimmer of light on the curfew?
Few coronavirus measures have baffled the public as much as the 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants.
Mr Johnson said: "I understand why Telegraph readers, whom I venerate, think this is arbitrary. You do have to restrict transmission, and transmission clearly takes place within households but also in pubs, bars and restaurants.
"And logically, restricting the hours of hospitality, regrettable though it is, much as I don't want to do it, we believe can help reduce transmission and bear down on the 'R'.
"But all of this is being kept under constant review. If we make progress, all of these measures are capable of being changed. People will say that would be chopping and changing, but the reality is we are fighting a virus and fighting conditions that themselves change."
'Pretty optimistic' about a Brexit trade deal
Mr Johnson will hold urgent talks with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, amid fevered speculation that a Brexit trade deal could be close.
The Prime Minister said the chances of a deal "are very good if everybody just exercises some common sense and looks at the deal that is there to be done". He added: "The UK has always been very clear what we want – we want a Canada-style relationship. We have been members for 45 years, and I don't see why they can't have the same deal with us, so I'm pretty optimistic."
Asked whether he will have got Brexit done without a trade deal, or whether the UK could become mired in years of negotiations about getting one, Mr Johnson replied: "Brexit will be done under all circumstances, because the alternatives are really between Canada and Australia."
Unable to resist slipping into his best Crocodile Dundee accent, he said: "Australia holds no terrors for us, mate, we say: 'Good on yer, no worries, no wukkas."
France 'reluctant' to play part in stopping migrants
While reports this week of wave machines and fences in the Channel may have been wide of the mark, Mr Johnson said he was looking at "all sorts" of ways to stop the "evil trade" in migrants.
But he expressed frustration, saying: "Clearly, we need to work with our French friends to prevent migrants from attempting the crossing at all. One of the difficulties is that once they get into UK waters, once they begin the crossing at all... we've had a problem which is that, since the middle of July, our friends have been reluctant to receive them back."
Following speculation about increased penalties for illegal entry, Mr Johnson said: "One of the measures that we need to consider is the legal position of the arrivals and the way the act of making the crossing is viewed in the eyes of the law."
Asked whether the Human Rights Act could be revised, he said: "You need to look at the whole legal environment in which the gangs are operating and the laws that they're exploiting that enable them to do this."
Connecting the Union
Almost 10 months since he won the election with an 80-seat majority, Mr Johnson is determined to use the Tories' four-day virtual conference to kick-start manifesto plans that were put on ice because of coronavirus.
On Friday, the Prime Minister published a list of the long-promised 40 new NHS hospitals that will be built by 2030, part of the "unite and level up agenda" that will be refreshed and re-promoted at the conference.
"This is a big moment for us – the moment to address some things that the country has needed to fix for generations," he said.
Mr Johnson has hired Sir Peter Hendy, the chairman of Network Rail, to conduct a Union Connectivity Review of the "musculoskeletal strength of our country's infrastructure". Some road and rail projects have "fallen between the cracks" of devolution, particularly where they cross borders, and the PM has pledged to widen roads including the A1 north of Newcastle, the A77, A75, A55 and the M4 in Wales.
Will there also be a bridge to Northern Ireland?
"You're right – we will look at ambitious ideas to connect all parts of the Union. That's obviously got to be right, we're a great country and we need to be properly connected," Mr Johnson said. "A great country like this can't succeed when too many parts of the UK don't have the access that they need to the places where jobs are being created."
A new son, a new diet – and future plans
Mr Johnson has little time to relax as he combines the burden of power with the responsibility of raising his five-month-old son, Wilfred, with his fiancee, Carrie Symonds.
He struggled to remember the latest books he has read before saying he had read "a couple of William Boyd novels" and Paul Collier's "The Future of Capitalism".
Nor has he watched much television. "I watched a bit of Toy Story 3 last night whilst trying to get someone to sleep," he smiled. "The plot didn't seem to be developing much beyond Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2. Things seemed to be going badly for Woody, but I'm sure it's going to turn out alright in the end. I had the feeling it would be OK."
Shortly before Wilfred was born, Mr Johnson was in hospital fighting coronavirus, an experience he insisted had not changed him except "in the sense that I've got thinner".
Having been 17st 6lbs when he went into hospital, he now weighs 15st 8lbs. He said he had not cut out crisps or snacks but added: "I try not to eat too much sometimes, and it's basically about taking lots of exercise and not eating so much. That's my top tip. Eat less, move more, weigh less."
He sidestepped the question of whether he and Ms Symonds had set a date for their wedding, saying: "You will be the first to know all such details", and also dodged the question of whether he will run in the next election.
"It's my intention to get on and deliver a fantastic programme on which we were elected," he said, before adding mischievously: "I can rule out standing in 2035. I can give you that as an exclusive. That definitely won't happen… um, well, but if I change my mind I'll be sure to let you know."