Buy-to-let madness

FOr an object lesson in the perils of interfering in free markets – something Tories are supposed to be against – consider how the buy-to-let property market has been all but destroyed.

after George Osborne hammered second home owners by slashing mortgage tax relief and hiking stamp duty, the number of properties available for rent has plummeted.

The result? rents are set to rise by 15 per cent in the next five years, according to the royal Institution of Chartered surveyors, hitting those families still trying to get on the property ladder. how depressingly predictable.