By Andrew Osborn
LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of youngBritons will be offered the chance to buy their first home witha hefty discount by Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday, ascheme he hopes will boost his re-election chances for May nextyear.
With less than five months to go before what is shaping upto be an unusually close election, Cameron and his Conservativesare keen to show voters that the steady economic recovery theyhave presided over can, if sustained, lift living standards.
Previous Conservative leaders such as Margaret Thatcher andHarold Macmillan proved that boosting home ownership was a votewinner and Cameron will present the scheme as something he isonly able to do because of his government's responsiblestewardship of the economy and reduction of the budget deficit.
"Under this scheme, first-time buyers will be offered thechance of a 20 percent discount, unlocking home ownership for ageneration," Cameron will say, according to advance extracts ofhis speech released by his office.
"This is all part of our long-term economic plan to secure abetter future for Britain, making sure we are backing those whowork hard and get on in life."
Under the Starter Home initiative, first-time buyers belowthe age of 40 will be able to get a minimum 20 percent discounton 100,000 new homes to be built on under-used or unviablebrownfield land.
Planning costs and levies will be waived in return for apromise from housebuilders of such discounts. Aspiring buyerswill be asked to register their interest from January, sixmonths earlier than originally planned.
Cameron's office said over 30 house builders includingBarratt, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey had already pledged theirsupport as well as several local councils.
He will announce an 8-week consultation period for thescheme on Monday.
Finance minister George Osborne offered anotherhousing-related pre-election sweetener earlier this month,cutting taxes on property purchases for 98 percent ofhome-buyers.
And last October, the government launched its Help to Buymortgage scheme, which offers government guarantees to highloan-to-value mortgages.
The opposition Labour party criticised Cameron's plan.
"No one will believe David Cameron's promises on housing andhome ownership," Emma Reynolds, Labour's housing spokeswoman,said in a statement.
"He said he would get Britain building but instead he haspresided over the lowest levels of house building in peacetimesince the 1920s." (Editing by Rosalind Russell)