A Conservative candidate has been condemned as “out of touch” after apparently claiming that £1 million is the cost of “a basic family home”.
Nadhim Zahawi, Tory candidate in Stratford-upon-Avon, appeared to make the comments last month after Gordon Brown announced plans for a new five per cent rate of stamp duty on property sales over £1 million.
His blog, at , claimed: “I am not sure exactly what this government considers a mansion when in areas across the country, a 3 bedroom house, a basic family home, can easily exchange hands at over £1 million.”
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However, Mr Zahawi claimed the blog post had not been written by him, but by a volunteer.
Mr Zahawi, a successful businessman who co-founded polling organisation YouGov, even included a link to an estate agent website - listing £1 million homes in the Stratford area.
These were described as “a number of 3 and 4 bedroom family homes for sale that are hardly mansions.”
Houses currently listed on the site include a Victorian house with coach house and stables, set in five acres, in need of updating, with a guide price of £1 million.
The website also offers “a spacious detached Grade II Listed Victorian family residence, together with former coach house, stables, garaging and detached cottage set in just under five acres of garden land within easy reach of the town centre,” also for £ 1million.
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And for £1,075,000, it offers a former rectory in the village of Alderminster, near Stratford, with five reception rooms, five bedrooms, two bathrooms, four attic rooms, a former coach house and landscaped gardens.
Labour’s Minister for the West Midlands Ian Austin said: “I find it astounding that this wannabe Tory MP thinks a basic family home costs £1 million. This is one of the Tories’ A-list candidates showing just how out of touch the Conservatives really are.”
However, Mr Zahawi said: “These comments do not reflect my views.
“The blog was posted by an over-zealous volunteer in the office, who has now been removed from this job.”
Mr Zahawi is a former pupil at King’s College School Wimbledon, an independent school which charges £15,900 a year per pupil. He stood down as Chief Executive of YouGov when the general election campaign began.
Stratford is considered to be a safe Conservative seat, and retiring Tory MP John Maples received a majority of 12,184 in 2005.