Budget 2017: Hammond's Stamp Duty Cut Backfires As Watchdog Warns It Will Push Up House Prices

Philip Hammond’s Budget bid to woo younger voters with stamp duty cuts unravelled within minutes after the UK’s economic watchdog warned the move would push up house prices.The Chancellor was cheered by Tory MPs as he unveiled a surprise move to scrap stamp duty for first time buyers of homes worth less than £300,000 and Treasury officials claimed it would save a million people an average of £1,600.But the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) demolished the