Labour pledge 'will mean road tolls'

A Labour election pledge to create a million more homeowners was undermined today by a stark warning that the extra traffic created would lead to road tolls in the South-East.

Gordon Brown and John Prescott unveiled the target in a bid to woo first-time buyers ahead of the general election.

The Chancellor said he wanted to boost "Britain's property-owning democracy" as he revealed that 100 surplus NHS sites would be used to build 15,000 affordable houses.

His pledge to create a million more homes within five years came under immediate attack as the Government's own Highways Agency warned new housing puts huge pressure on the road network.

The agency said road tolls would have to be introduced much sooner than ministers expected to prevent congestion on motorways and trunk roads in the South-East. The M1, A1(M), M11, A12 and A13 will all face congestion charges of ?1.30 a mile to curb the rising traffic generated by thousands of new commuters.

The agency's formal response to government building plans for the East warns that road conditions will "deteriorate significantly" and road tolls will be needed within five years rather than the 10 or 15 years envisaged by ministers.

But Mr Brown was robust about the pledge to help firsttime buyers. Echoing Harold Macmillan's call for a "property-owning democracy", he hails the fact that there are one million more homeowners than in 1997 and pledges to double the figure by 2010.

The aim is to increase the level of home ownership from 70 per cent to 75 per cent, higher than any big industrial nation. More shared equity schemes would also help tenants buy a stake in their homes.

"With more and more people owning their homes, houses are becoming ever more important as assets," Mr Brown was set to say.

The Chancellor will be back at the heart of Labour's campaign over the next week as the party seeks to put " pocketbook" issues such as housing and the economy centre-stage.

The Cabinet was cheered by pollster Philip Gould's claim yesterday that 46 per cent of voters see Labour as better economic managers than the Tories. It was reported today that a series of eye-catching initiatives are under consideration for the manifesto. They could include withholding housing benefit from those who do not act responsibly.

Labour would produce 40 Bills in the first Parliamentary session of its third term, Commons leader Peter Hain said today.