Good morning. If you are a rabbit and you’re reading this sitting in a hat anywhere near Boris Johnson, First Edition’s advice to you today is: cling on for dear life. With the prime minister now displaying an existential interest in ways to demonstrate that discovering 41% of his own MPs wanting to get rid of him was actually a moment of triumph, the big ideas will be coming thick and fast in the coming days and weeks.
First out of the blocks today: a speech in Lancashire focused on ways to make it easier for lower-paid people to buy homes. Previews this morning suggest that Johnson will announce changes to the rules (£) to allow housing benefits to be used to get mortgages, and say he will accelerate housebuilding with new ‘flatpack’ homes. But the most significant offer is an attempt to recreate Margaret Thatcher’s election-winning formula by updating her trademark right to buy policy, extending it to properties owned by housing associations.
