A prominent Conservative has warned Labour not to be tempted into imposing rent controls on the private sector.

Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride, speaking on an estate agency podcast, warns the government against “kite flying, as we saw recently with a rumoured rent freeze. The damage these rumours wreak is serious and long-term.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves was reported last month to be considering private sector rent controls as a way of alleviating cost of living rises for renters. The government later denied that it was under consideration.

Stride also uses the opportunity to reveal why he thinks the sales market is ’stuck’.

Stamp duty is “bunging up the housing market” – stopping people buy their first home, blocking those who need to  move for work, and making it unaffordable to move for the elderly, he says.

The Conservatives ended last week’s local elections with a loss of 583 council seats across England. On the night it came fourth in terms of seats won, behind Reform in first place, Labour second and the Liberal Democrats third.  

On Winkworth’s Property Exchange podcast, Stride says stamp duty is “the most economically damaging tax.

“Stamp duty damages aspiration and the economy. And this hits the majority of England. It’s not just a London problem. 

“The social consequences are far-reaching, from first time buyers to elderly people living in houses they can’t afford to run.  I

“It’s bunging up the housing market. 

“The Conservatives would get rid of it and fund it by reductions in the benefits bill, reducing the size of the Civil Service to 2016 levels  and cutting overseas aid.

“This wouldn’t be a tax cut for the hugely affluent. It would enable people to move  at every level of the market.  Most people impacted by stamp duty don’t live in London and most transactions are below £500,000.”

He added: “Every property transaction drives economic activity – for plumbers, builders, retailers and all businesses connected with setting up home.”