David Cameron to pledge 'national crusade' to build affordable houses for first time buyers

Prime Minister David Cameron will pledge a "national crusade" to build affordable homes for first-time buyers as he sets out his goals for his final five-year term at Downing Street. Cameron will promise to make the 2010s a "turnaround decade" for Britain when he addresses the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.

On Wednesday (7 October,) the prime minister is expected to unveil plans, which will move him to the political centre ground in attracting young Britons, including the announcement of affordable housing for buyers under 40.

"When a generation of hardworking men and women in their 20s and 30s are waking up each morning in their childhood bedrooms - that should be a wake-up call for us. We need a national crusade to get homes built. That means banks lending, government releasing land, and yes - planning being reformed," Cameron will say, according to excerpts of his 50-minutes speech.

The 48-year-old British premier is increasingly keen on what legacy he would leave when he exits 10 Downing Street in 2020. In his closing speech to Tory activists at the annual party conference, he would pledge to transform Britain's young population from "generation rent to generation buy".

Reports indicate that the government would promise 200,000 "starter" homes by 2020 at discounted prices for first-time buyers, who will not be able to sell the properties for a short period to prevent them from making a quick profit. The plans would also ease pressure on developers from offering affordable homes for rent and instead would allow them to build low-cost homes for sale.

Cameron will add: "I believe that we can make this era - these 2010s - a defining decade for our country. The turnaround decade. One which people will look back on and say: 'That's the time when the tide turned. When people no longer felt the current going against them, but working with them'.

"Because we know this: nothing is written. We've proved it in schools across our country. That the poorest children don't have to get the worst results - they can get the best. Over the next five years we will show that the deep problems in our society - they are not inevitable."