Fantastic. At last some common sense. When 1st time buyers haven't got a hope of a first home it is moronic to allow the rich to buy up lots of spare homes. All this rubbish about needing to build more homes. There are plenty of homes, they are just sitting empty for various reasons.

julian, shrewsbury, uk

I personally applaud this move. If you want to take a holiday in an area, you stay in a hotel, buy a chalet or stay in a caravan park. You do not need to own a second or third home!

You can buy your own caravan or chalet if you want to have a regular holiday spot. That leaves houses for full time residents to occupy. But please, do not be selfish and expect to take priority over local residents who wish to live near their families. Or those of us who have seen the local economy damaged by these unoccupied houses, and want them filled.

It's farcical that new houses are built in some areas around unoccupied second homes.

The downside is, this is still not likely to protect the not-so-picturesque rural areas from losing their local population and identity. Locals are expected to move out so that someone from the other side of the country can move in. Shameful.

D Strachan, Middlesex,

Once again , the New Labour Socialist dictatorship regime is going to trample on the rights and liberties of the British people. I can't wait to see them get the boot at the next General Election .

William Eves, Preston, Lancashire U.K.

Fantastic idea.

Where I live (Padstow, Cornwall) locals don't have a hope. A house is not a business, it should be somewhere to live. If you need planning permission to turn a commercial property into a residential one why should it be any different to do it the other way round. Especailly when there is this huge shortage people keep talking about...
I'm all for it.

Ali, padstow, cornwall

Ben, Homesick Pom - Adelaide, Oz. Yet again this nonsense about a housing shortage - I'm amazed that the vested interests have been so successful at conning people with this myth. I live in the prosperous SE yet there are unsold and unlet houses galore around here - many have been on the market for months. Also, there are virtually no homeless people on the streets here. There is an 'affordable' housing shortage, which will be taken care of by the acceleration of the current crash. If Mr B follows through with this 2nd homes policy, this should speed things up even more. Finally, with 3m new homes in the pipeline - I predict a housing glut within 10 years. Excellent news for FTBs and upshifters. Not so good for downshifters and the BTL investors, who find that all of their retirement dreams vanish.

Graham, Oxford, UK

An interesting suggestion from one who's job automatically brings with it two homes. Is he intending to give up Chequers and renounce it on behalf of all future holders of his office, together with all other ministerial second residences? For someone who always bleats on about his moral upbringing this would be the only possible course of action acceptable to his conscience.

Presumably this is part of the government's plan to tell us all how we can be allowed to spend our own money, or will it only apply to those sections of society who are not expected to suuport Labour in any future elections?

Warren Hertzberg, London,

"but once again Gordon Brown is proposing a policy that undermines traditional English liberties."

Tough. It's time that the Brits accepted that they can't always have what they want.

Would you like to live under a bridge with all your civil liberties intact?

starling, Lancaster,

I think consideration should be given to large number of second homes that are rented out for holiday accommodation. We have a little cottage in Conwy that is rented out 85% of the year to holiday makers, bringing much needed income to local restaurants, shops and tourist attractions. There is a shortage of holiday accommodation in the area, and this support our tourist industry. Our aim is to never have the cottage empty, so it is making a contribution to local economy all year round.

Jackie Caddick, conwy, UK

We have been pushing for this in the Lake District for at least 4 years. Small communities such as ours have little chance of remaining sustainable with all properties going for sale being bought by week-enders. There is also a further problem when the week-enders in the Lakeland villages get together to create a pressure force to try to prevent any affordable properties being built.

Yes, it may be draconian but it is absolutely essential.

Alastair Cameron, Coniston, Cumbria

Rather than prevent people buying second homes, make them pay. By this i mean they pay an additional premium of say 10 or 15% into an escrow account that is then used to provide cheap housing for people who were born or brought up in the area.

David Turner, Vevey, Switzerland

I'll be interested to see how many labour MPs will be blocked from buying second homes in their own constituencies. It might be instructive to those who vote Labour to have it shown to them how many of their MPs regard them as good enough to vote but not to live amongst.

Edward Andrew Green, Upminster, England

What complete and utter tosh from a government that just can't sticking thier noses in.
This is Communism.
Trying to control what people own and what they do with it is a disgrace.
This government needs to butt out.

Dave, London, South East

Perhaps second home ownership should be restricted to the thousands of unwanted urban flats that will be vacated by the fleeing non-doms?

Pete, chichester,

Labour have made enemies of the rural community, not least by closing hundreds of traditional pubs with their ridiculous smoking ban. Suddenly they are taking an interest. Why should this be? Because they see a vote in it and an opportunity to stamp their egalitarian foot.

Before taking this unworkable plan a step further, they might like to consider how they have put unbearable pressure on the WHOLE housing market by encouraging the break-up of families and overloading the country with immigrants.

PaulD, Essex,

.......we,ll keep the red flag flying......

Peter Andrew, Montreal, Canada

All the comments about the Sovietization of the UK are a bit ironic. The Soviets, after all, never had a problem with people having dachas in the countryside, though it was more a matter of pull than affluence.

As a resident of the Lake Tahoe, California resort/2nd home area I have to point out that here 2nd homes are a property tax windfall for local government (property taxes go directly to the local jurisdiction) as the owners aren't here most of the time to use services, especially schools (mostly funded from local property taxes).

The way the dollar is going if your government won't let you own a 2nd home there you will soon be able to put a very nice one here on your credit card.

John Reece, Truckee, California, US

The marxist politics of spite and envy

Terry Dell, Weybridge, UK

Very few people 'need' a second home, even if it is a "pension/hobby etc". I couldn't afford to buy in Devon because so many rich people use their city assets, or second jobs to push up the prices. Try living in rural areas on the pay you get in rurla areas and then try to fund a mortgage. It is simply selfish and self-sering and does nothing for the local amenity value or economy.

Oliver Wrathall, Feniton, Devon

Second home ownership is a problem in this country, and it would be entirely right to remove the tax advantages it enjoys, but once again Gordon Brown is proposing a policy that undermines traditional English liberties. In a free society, it is none of the government's business how much time the owner of a house spends in this house. The solution to the housing crisis is to build more houses. Someone needs to mobilise the young against the selfish power of middle-aged nimbies and bring about a massive increase in the supply of housing. Prices should be reduced by 50% in real terms.

Oliver Chettle, Bedford,

Isn't the real issue here that thanks to years of inept public planning and trying to squeeze more and more people into the same space the cities have become such god awful places to be that everybody looks to escape at every opportunity!!

Allow people to build the houses they want to live in (Britains in a housing shortage crisis after all) and give regions and towns real power to govern themselves and build economies that aren't purely dependent on, and hostage to, tourism cash from the cities.

Ben, Homesick Pom - Adelaide, Oz

Homes should be for living in, and all houses should be treated as dwellings - not 'weekend hotels' or milk cows for 'investors'. Let the weekenders and the buy-to-let mob pay VAT and capital gains taxes on their 'homes', and give the rest of us a chance to buy our own place to live.

Sandy, Abu Dhabi, UAE

This was a recognised problem in parts of the West Country 30 years ago. Don't expect a solution very soon ......

Clive, Gloucester, UK

This is a terrible idea. It will only lead to bribery and corruption.

Taylor, London,

As a Londoner, I take it that those who are born and have homes in such places as Devon or Cornwall Scotland Wales, Ireland or places in the North of England, who come to London for employment reasons etc, will not be allowed to purchase London property thus helping to keep such property prices in down. Or will this governments arrangement only apply to Londoner's or other city dwellers.

Brian Lill, Orpington,

This proposal is not about restricting ownership, it's about broadening ownership and building sustainable communities. Those people who feel threatened by this proposal should stop being so selfish. Having a social conscience means more than buying fair trade coffee to support farmers in South America, it also requires some kind of market regulation here to ensure that those who want to live and work in these communities have a roof over their head.

Mark, St Ives - Cornwall,

Yet another daft labour idea.

All they have to do to make second home ownership less palatable is to double or even triple the amount of council tax on these homes on the basis 'if they can afford a second home they can comfortably afford to pay the tax'.

At least the local council will benefit and, to a less extent the populace by (sic) lower council taxes. Too simple by half for any politician or Brown to grasp.

Peter, Knapton, Norfolk, England

Does anyone really think that this will mean cheaper housing?
The price they will start at will be just as un-obtainable as it is at present. It is supply and demand. There are no cheap houses because there are too many people.

David Thijm, Stourbridge, UK

Why, oh why does this government insist on interfering in matters that do not concern it.

Come on Gordon, start dealing with the important issues facing this country - such as Immigration.

Tony Heath, Godalming,

And if you inherit a second property, will you have to nominate which one that the Government can take from you?

Avana Beach, London, UK

What does the EU say about this?Surely with the advent of free movement of all peoples, how can Brown stop EU citizens from buying holiday homes in our beauty spots/National Parks?

Jan, London, England

10 years too late!

Chris, London,

Welcome to Bulgaria....lovely country, sunshine, tasty foods at 1/3 of the UK price, lot of nice second homes and cheap lands for everyone!

richard payne, Varna, Bulgaria

I thought Communism died with the fall of the Soviet Union! It is not the government's business how people use their lawfully purchased property. (And I write this as a student who owns no homes at all.)
Not to mention that we're all supposed to be terrified of a house-price crash.

Rowan, Oxford,

Funny this, considering the majority of MPs NEED a second home to be able to maintain their working and family life. And many other professionals have the same needs.

And is this a sign that Brown is trying to go from being 'Mr.Bean' back to being 'Stalin'? Denying people the right of having a home in the country to escape to when life in the city gets too much seems oppressive.

V. Pudic, Brighouse, UK

We bought a second home costing us £500 a month in a mortgage which i fund by working as a receptionist. it is our hobby/interest/ holiday/pension all rolled into one. we do not fly abroad for hols. we have one car between five- we have no other savings other than this second home. if we were to save in the stock market who knows how ethical the investments? we know where our money is. we have been married 30 years. if we had divorced and each got a house no-one would bat an eyelid. our main small semi is in the suburbs . we ourselves see our own children unbale to buy, we see thousands of foreigners move into our areas - we dont say they are pushing up the house prices. the fact is that all over the world those with money can buy. why do the country people think they are the only ones affected? the lack of affordable housing is caused by almost anything but seconnd home ownership! (we need council houses and security of tenure beyond six months for peoople in the rented sector)

Hilary Smith, Sheffield, S.Yorks

This suggestion is obviously completely unworkable and so not worth debating. However, if people had to pay the true costs of home ownership (i.e. including damage to the environment from burning fossil fuels etc.) then the demand for second homes would be lower.

CM, Chichister, W Sussex

They refer to second home ownership as some type of scourge or natural disaster.
Astonishing.
America is full of small communities that thrive on second home ownership and the seasonal business they bring.
I had thought the UK was long past ideas like this.
Very Sobering.

Jeffrey Wright, san antonio, Texas

Does this include Chequers? And what about people living in Polperro who have to find a flat in London because there is no work in Cornwall?

Dave Griffin, Ilfracombe, UK

Next Red Gordon will be applying the same logic to second car ownership. This is real Soviet style interference with basic freedoms and the free market system

Richard James, London , England

Does this include Chequers? And what if someone in job-starved Polperro wants to buy a flat in London?

Dave Griffin, Ilfracombe, UK

Two points spring to mind.
A. Will our money grabbing mp's have to stop claiming for their second homes.
B. One assumes from the article that it is going to be illegal to buy a second home but perfectly legal for the buy to rent mob buying as many as they want.
C. it has been quoted that 30.40 or even 50% of our villages are in darkness most of the year, surely this can only be of benefit as Brown and Co. keep harping on about carbon emissions the lack of light and heating being use must contribute to the reduction he so desires.

Jeff Cox, Edmonton, England

Let nature take it's course.
When all the houses are second homes there won't won't be anyone there to provide the services like shops, plumbers, bakers, pubs - just a ghost village for most of the year. - squatters take note!

Jonathan, Cheshire,

Too little, too late, just like the belated clampdown on BTLs tax avoidance.

Paul, Coventry,

I agree with contrubutors who point out how MPs with second (and third) homes milk the system for all it's worth. And what's more, they'll continue to do so for as long as we allow it. It seems we are so used to hypocrisy from Brown's Government that we simply accept it as the norm.

Robert, Hull, East Yorkshire

This is just Gordon waking up to the fact that voters in rural communities hate NuLabour. Not surprising since NuLabour has done so much to destroy country life. This all about Votes for Labour - nothing to do with supporting village communities.

In a few weeks or so - after the local elections in May - they will quietly start announcing who will be exempt from this proposal - and then drop it completely.

Donna Walker, Effingham, Surrey

If this bill goes through, the people will buy a second home abroad.

adam, Southampton, uk

Its about time that something like this was done. This second home business is killing the country side. If people want a second home let them buy one abroad.
LC Wolverhampton

L Chapman, Wolverhampton,

Gordon Brown lives in a second home provided by the Tax Payer at no cost to himself, how on earth can he object to others who pay with their own money from having a second home. All politicians are hypocrits but Brown is in the Premier league.

Peter Fordham, Pego, Spain

One man one house, its as simple as that.

c.peel, leeds,

And so the Sovietisation of the UK continues.
Thank you Blair for stitching us up with this Stalinist.

David Knight, Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Meanwhile, on another planet, MPs continue with the privilege of owning second homes, paid for out of the £22,110 housing expenses funded by the "little people"

Jim, Haywards Heath, UK

Thailand here I come!

David Howden, Derby, England and what a state (its in)

I see than no-one else has noticed that this would effectively result in local authority approval being required for every property purchase. How else would they be able to distiguish between first & second homes?
Think on the implications of that.

Peter J, london, england

Sounds like socialist envy to me, however exactly what employment is there for so called local people in these sought-after rural areas?.
Is this just not a case of the government looking to house its surplus of benefit tenants, spreading urban poverty and crime to the four corners of our once lovely country.

wayne, huntingdon, cambridgeshire

what about the buy to let market thats just as bad if not worse

paul, halifax,

The government telling you who you can and can't sell your house to?? We are in a Stalinist state. Wake up people, before it is too late.

RB, Aberdeen,

As a pom living in Brisbane Australia I have seen the same greed here. Wish Rudd would do that here in Australia.

Colin, Brisbane, Australia

Surely this is just another way of the government trying to cash in on the hard working people of the uk, the main reason that people are putting their money into second or third homes is because it is not worth putting their funds into a pension scheme anymore, Britiain is an island and the more people who keep moving to live and work here, the bigger the housing shortage is going to be, if the government start to place taxes on owners of second home, all the home owners are going to do is pass this tax onto their tennants pushing up rent.

Ian Watson-Ross, Edinburgh,

Too little too late. He needs to start building millions of council houses. The private market is out of reach for ordinary first timers now. Well done Brown. Socialist?.....Not a socialist bone in his body.

judy, Liverpool, England

wake up everyone
this is the prelude for a new tax
non domicile in a county??
the problem is not second homes as they tend to be outside
the financial scope of the "locals" but the effect on the general house prices in a region.it would be interesting if the stamp duty raised was given to the local councils who are usually dis advantaged by government grants favouring cities. a bit late to worry about the countryside when policies have been biased against it for so long.

rabrade, netherbury, uk

The Government telling us where we can and cannot live. How long can this Prime Minister who reached his post without the mandate of the electorate be allowed to go on. Look at how Russia has prospered on abandoning these unworkable ideals and even the Chinese are (slowly) moving away from those ideals.

st john fortesque-smythe (lord), London, UK

What an utter joke of a proposal and completely unworkable one at that. Once again Labour show themselves to be lacking common sense and ingenuity. Even Housepricecrash.co.uk is tearing the idea apart!

Turnbull, Tynemouth, UK

The problem with this awful government in general and the Labour Party in particular, is that having prooved themselves completly inept at running anything and have no new ideas or being that interested in real wealth creation [for all], and being reduced to fiddling on the margins through their own ineptitude with only the NHS to play with, they have nothing left to do. This is why they cannot resist more outmoded social[ist] engineering and why they embrance the new religion of climate change, of which they are the high priests. It gives them the oportunity to look like they doing something important with a licence to pointlessly legislate and interfere without ever having to produce a shred of evidence that it really exists. People bought and buy second homes in rural areas where prices have been depressed due to the lack of employment opportunity and in may cases work part time from here through email and the internet. It's a natural economic outcome.

andrew wakeling, London, UK

Adrian: "a basic and fundamental right in a democracy for people to move freely."

We aren't really talking about the right to "move freely" here. We're talking about the "rights" of wealthy people who already have a home of their own buying up more homes as weekend boltholes and consequently pricing out the local population.

Paul, london,

The 'local' people and their greed are what sold the properties to 'outsiders' in the first place. If it was so important to them to preserve the local housing for locals they were free to sell to locals only. It is no good blaming those that came in to save the properties from ruin, when these 'locals' are the ones responsible for selling the properties in the first place. JD.

Jonathan Dickson, London, England

It's interesting that Brown wants to solve the problem of housing shortage after 10 years of un-sustainable population growth through uncontrolled immigration. Shutting the gate after the horse has bolted - methinks !

Graham the nomad, Leicester,

What utter hypocrisy when MPs are amongst the worst "culprits" and we are paying for theirs! No wonder they are increasingly held in contempt. This will not help rural communities one jot and is merely another blatant attempt at social engineering inspired by envy, in the hope that it is populist. I don't think Brown will be happy until he has control of all our assets and income and gives us a little pocket money every week. The Brown Terror lives!!

Peter Clubbe, Chester,

There's really no need to introduce extra bureaucracy and make people apply for licences. Just tax second homes far more heavily. Something really does need to be done, far too many people who have no idea what they are doing are going into the 'buy to let' market to earn some easy money, expanding a market that wouldn't be necessary were they not taking all of the properties out of reach of first time buyers.

It's not communism to tax the rich according to what they are able to pay, just fairness

Sophie, Liverpool,

Wouldn't it be better to stimulate the local economy by moving some of the jobs out of the big cities, especially London ?

James B, Norfolk, Norfolf

i run a group of companies and my partner is a city whizz kid (to use the Times vernacular). We do not live in a ritzy property overlooking Hyde Park, as we are priced out bye the foreign second homers! Bet no one is weeping for us and nor should they be. We are quite capable of looking after ourselves like people used to do before big government told us to leave it to them! So where is the line in the sand? Its not acceptable for cornish fishermen to be "disadvantaged" but it is fair for the wealth creators to be, is the message here. What we need is real transparency in our market, not more meddling (polite media term for totalitarian type control).

Meddle here, unintended consequence arises, so meddle there to fix that and so on and on and on. Does Gordon not know his history? The world is far to complex for a self serving bunch of failed lawyers to social engineer away all their petty dislikes.. Been there done that and failed miserably. Moscow in the 50s here we come.

Robina Hood, London, uk

Excellent. I have long thought that second homes are a blight in all villages. Second home owners make very little contribution to the rural economic infrastructure. Generally there is a lack of social cohesion with those coming for week ends and holidays, having very little relationship with the old established residents. However the important point is that we are a tiny little island 250 x 950 miles, with some 65 million.
It no longer feasible or practical to allow a family or individual to own more than one residence as their main place of dwelling, in order to free up properties for those without a home.

Chris, Salisbury,

Slowly but surely, Brown is indoctrinating us so that we will one day be convinced that ' Property is theft '......we are being led by the nose to the Marxist dystopia.
There will, of course, be exceptions to the rule; MPs will be permitted to have two or more properties ( one of which will continue to be funded by us taxpayers )
'Some are more equal than others'.....George Orwell.

R.M., London, England

Yes!!! Someone is finally listening -
Hopefully the local housing will then to begin to reflect the local income of important key workers such as the police, nurses, teachers that are essential to continue to keep these rural communities going. None of these people can at present afford to buy houses in these high second home areas. There will be no one left to maintain the schools, hospitals and police force if these people cannot afford to buy housing in these areas. Its all very well saying move, but if we all move there will be no one left, so that is not the answer. I'm sure speaking as a local from one of these areas we welcome any support there is to offer. We all welcome visitors and the economic support they have to offer towards tourism etc but to own a second home in one of these areas is irrational when some, however hard they work cannot even afford one. Thank you Matthew Taylor MP for supporting and really understanding the situation rural communities are in.

Collette, Purbeck,

Unworkable nu-labour nonsense. The only solution is to build good quality public sector rental accommodation, where local people can live with the same security as owning their home.

You will never create a level playing field in this country with the huge differential between the haves and the have nots, which has grown considerably under labour.

A Harris, Kettering, UK

I agree with second home ownership destroying the community. 4 years ago I did a health survey for resuscitation provision and Cornwall was rapidly aging due to second home owners moving in from London and elsewhere, driving out the local young, destroying the communties that had attracted people down there.......the birth rate was falling because of the effect, closing schools, and the hospitals workload was increasing correspondingly...... something should be done about giving locals priority access to housing. I am NOT a labour fan..... but I agree with the principle of preserving the local community. However, I think this problem was obvious years ago and Labour as usual are acting too late with usually ill thought out solutions.....

stuart buchanan, Belfast,

Well dictating who may live where will bring us closer to replicating the failed USSR I suppose. Along with ID cards, next permissions to go anywhere inside the country?
What next? Stealing all our homes and assigning them to the state approved persons? The best for the party members elite of course!

Do we see cities complaining of all those village children moving in taking their higher paid jobs? Pushing up city house demand?

The world can not be perfect, grow up and let us have freedom and its consequences. VASTLY better than Gorgon Bean dictating anything.

JamesStGeorge, B. Stortford, England

All for it.
Ban private ownership of property, introduce ID cards, ban cars and planes, must obtain travel permits internally and whilst we are about it how about setting up a Gulag in Scotland. Its cold and MT and will make them feel just at home. The last only requires us to change the proposed 42 days detention to 42 years. Easy.

We must also introduce block master (Gauleiters in former Germany) in our neighbourhoods (local council members preferred) who can ensure we follow the dictats from our Leader. We can call them General Enforcement of Silly Thinking And Political Officers or Gestapo for short.

Oh and if you think you can actually think and run your own life, matey, a Scotland Gulag is where we will show you the errors of your ways.

Richard, London,

all good so far as i can see, the amount of ghost towns in Kernow at this time of year is getting beyond a joke!

Pete, Polzeath, Kernow

I think this can only be a good thing for the local people who are outpriced of their own areas. Let the rich rent holiday properties therefore putting something back into the community. Their spending in local shops does help somewhat but at the same time hikes prices up for locals.

Bill, Middx,

If you want a change of scene at weekends(and who doesn't;especially stressed city dwellers;)stay in the lovely b and bs dotted about our lovely land.Visit the local pub for evening meals and chat to the locals.Buy any supplies in the village shop(if there is still one!)It's great.(Far nicer than always going to the same place,or staying in "anonymous" hotels.)I know,I've done it for years and had marvellous hospitality and locations (and not very dear,either.)

HD, WsM,

Does that inclued politicians?

Keith, UK, UK

I really wish people would wake up to the meddling, communist Labour party before its too late. We are sleep walking into George Orwells big brother state with restrictions on property which is a basic and fundemental right in a democracy for people to move freely. Stamp duty has already restricted the ability of people to move. Now we have a rule for the masses excepting MPs of course who have a legimate need for two homes unlike anybody else of course.

Adrian, London,

"Gordon Brown to curb second home ownership..." But not of course for MPs

S. Barraclough, Huddersfield, W. Yorkshire

Not a terrible idea but it's a case of too little too late. I notice that Gordon comes up with this idea whilst house prices are slowing and not when property prices are booming. Call me a cynic but did he not forsee this problem earlier but do nothing about it because he was happy to except the increasing amounts of stamp duty as house prices increased due to rich people in the city buying 2nd and 3rd properties outside London.

David, Northampton, England

I understand what they are trying to do, but come on! I thought most of the Nazis went out of power after the Second World War!

As an Australian living in London, it is even easier for me to see how this country is turning into a communist power!

N. James, London, London

what jaw-dropping hypocracy when we are shelling out shedloads of tax to subsidise second homes for his team.
This country becomes more Soviet by the day, no wonder the Russians are so at home here! (Oh - and will they be subjected to the immigrants skills shortage test - do we need more Mafia or assasins?).

Penny, London,

This is an absolutely reasonable move. There is a clear difference between absentee landlordism and contributing the community (Tom); Bill has a fair point (but not one I would jump to defend - there IS racism in North Wales; one can't simply have markets - were markets uncontrained we would not have half so much foreign industrial concerns locating to this country - as with all public policy it is a balance between economic liberalism and the substance of our values.

david john marusza, london, islington

Another "Gordon"..... whatever good thoughts were there if any), it's, totally unworkable. And f course MP's second homes will be excluded, as they will consider themselves a special case.

Anyone who knows what they are doing will buy the property using an offshore trust and a security bond - then lease it back from the trust for a peppercorn rent and administration fee. (Like I said - unenforceable).

Let's get the ball rolling - ( It's a GORDON ! ) (again).

John Jenkins, Thame, Oxon

He would be better off sorting out the second homes fiasco in parliment first, at least the people buying homes in the countrey do it with their money not the Tax payers,Hippocrite!

Tim Walton, Bangkok, Thailand

These comments are interesting, I just wonder if Petejr or MR Ball live in the communities affected? I recently returned to my home village to see the effects of 2nd home ownership. Not only are villages being emptied but the affordability of homes are beyond the local people. Local people in my area earn around £14K, that is fine, but when first time buyer homes cost £120K, it is impossible for young people to stay here, forcing more people to leave. This destroys communities, leaving many feeling bitter. This is particularly true in Wales, as the influx of retired people and holiday homes affects the social structure and language, which is part of our rural identity. You could loosely equate this to an inlfux of immigrants, directly swamping the communities and culture, which has constant mainstream media attention and seen as a concern within England.

Gareth, Pwllheli, UK / Gwynedd

This is easy to evade by declaring the "second" home as the first: who is to know?

What about a Ltd company buying a home?

What about buying to let? Take two families who want second homes family (a) buys and lets to family (b) family (b) buys and lets to family (a)!

And what about the market overall? If this scheme is introduced then, in the areas applied resale values will drop : the locals will merely have unsalable houses! And will loose mobility.

Those who are "priced out" tended not to own houses in the past, but to rent.

The real problem in the UK is the mania with home ownership. As an investment houses are not all that great, when valued over time. They are, in fact quite risky, and when valuing "gains" sellers tend to overlook depreciation which has to be paid for by maintenance costs, the loss of time on maintenance, and inflation - all tend to get overlooked in the "profit". TV programmes never factor in these elements, or foregone interest on the money spent.

Michael Corby, London,

Here we go. The first step towards Communist Britain.
The next step will be: if you've got more than 1 room unoccupied in your house, then the government will find you a nice lodger. Free of charge.

Clive Britcher, Caracas, Venezuela

For God's sake!! Will Labour next be telling us who will and who won't be allowed to procreate? Must they micro-manage every tiny little aspect of our lives?? Good people, take back your country, before it is too late!!!

C. Heathcote, Tonbridge,

Hmmm, private property rights? Freedom? Choice?

Surely I'm allowed to sell my property to whoever I like without the State intervening? Surely I'm allowed to pay the asking price for someone's property without asking the State's permission?

Isn't this one of the pillars of freedom that our brave troops are fighting for in Iraq?

Adam, London, UK

To all those who see this as Old Labour interference.

You're talking complete rubbish. If a group of people staged a rave party at the end of your garden every weekend, you would no doubt want the police and the local authorities to stop them. But according to your logic this would be State "interference" in their enjoyment. I have lived in rural areas, including Cornwall, working as a reporter. I wanted to buy a house, but I could not. Instead, I had to watch the wealthy grab every single property they could and then leave it empty for most of the year or rent it out. As an honest working person who just wants to get on in life, buy a modest home and make a contribution to a community in a sector other than tourism, it is extremely depressing. To put it bluntly you feel like you've been marginalised by society.

I completely welcome this announcement, and as someone who has sworn never to vote Labour would now actually consider changing my voting habits for this single issue.

Mark Binnersley, Beijing, China

No doubt MPs will be exempt from the Bill.

Pip, Banstead, Surrey

This man is completely farcical as a leader. His government cannot manage to tackle crime and the feral yobs who make Britain's streets no-go areas but tackles such "serious" problems as plastic bags and second home ownership! Well thank god for that. We can all sleep well in our beds tonight.

Jennifer, Newcastle upon Tyne,

The real solution is to let people build more houses. But no, New Labour couldn't possibly make a sensible decision, could it?

RB, Aberdeen,

Smells of panic to me and too little too late! Many young people have already been forced to move out of villages they were born in, away from friends and family because weekenders have been snapping up second homes. This has been one of the main reason prices have rocketed. Now the bubble is about to burst hopefully won't be able to afford to!

sophie, london,

Nationalising failed companies, collapsing economy, and now the State riding roughshod over the rights of private property owners. How very Old Labour!

Colin Soames, London,

short of putting the nails in your own coffin you couldn't try to sink this ship much harder could you gordon

jon, london, uk

He (The PM) is missing the point as usual. The value of many of the second homes are beyond the reach of many "locals" but their existance can contribute in many ways to the local economy.

It is not the second homes that are the problem but the balance between second homes and homes for resident locals. Whether these homes are in the private or public rented sector or part owned in a "home-stake" type arrangement it does not matter but it is the lack of this type of provision which is the problem not the easy scapegoat of the second home.

Do most MP's not have second or third homes many of which are paid for by us? Perhaps they should lead by example and give up some of their properties or are they to be exempted as usual as with bin taxes, expenses etc,. etc.?

Neil Arthur, Isle of Arran, Scotland

I just watched a film called "Equilibrium" which portrays a view of the world after the introduction of thought control and the elimination of free will. It is frighteningly close to where the Labour party and "eXtreme Socialism"are taking us!

peterj, aberdeen , UK

Of for God’s sake!

There are no jobs in the countryside. Those living there have gained enormously from selling their otherwise worthless houses to people who want to holiday there and spend money in the locality.

Leave the sodding market alone and spend some time on sorting your expenses out.

As someone who was brought up in the country, it was an absolute given that if you wanted a good job, you had to move to where those jobs were, not sit and mop and moan about how wonderful it would be if only the strip field system could be re-introduced.

George Ball, Diss,

When this idea was mooted some years ago for second homes in Wales it was branded "racist" by the media.
So it seems it is fine to destroy Welsh communities but goodness me, in Little England ?

Bill, Singapore,

I think this is a sad idea. I grew up in the countryside (Cumbria) and many of the second home owners did bring something to the area and often moved into the area on retirement or when an apropriate job came up. Rather than have the council deciding who can buy and who can't why not just have double or triple council tax for any second home owner who doesn't rent their house out with a clause that it has to be booked say 80% of the year. This will keep the rents down for holiday makers in the quiet times and keep money and people coming to an area which will be good for the local economy. In my mind if you are going to legislate make it expensive to own any empty or under used property as that will put an appropriate negative pressure on prices to counter bubbles.

Tom Davies, St Helens, UK

While he is at it, perhaps Mr Brown would take action to stop developers building tiny 'apartments' with little or no amenity space throughout the towns and cities of the land.

These types of properties raise just as many issues of community sustainability as second homes in rural areas.

MarkS, Leeds,