Over a third of first time buyers relying on ‘bank of mum and dad’

Tories accused of deserting those without financial support, as proportion relying on help with deposits rises from 27% to 37% in a year

Rishi Sunak has been accused of locking the door on home ownership" and entrenching inequality, amid evidence that tens of thousands more young house buyers have been forced to turn to the bank of mum and dad" to secure a new home.

A crisis in housing affordability is again set to be a major election flashpoint, with the prime minister already admitting in recent months that the Conservatives needed to do more to address falling home ownership rates among the young. The party has failed in its manifesto pledge to build 300,000 houses a year.