STAMP duty would be scrapped for the majority of homebuyers in the North-East and North Yorkshire, under Conservative plans unveiled yesterday.

Michael Howard said the Tories would raise the stamp duty threshold from £120,000 to £250,000 at a cost of £1bn - the final slice of the party's £4bn tax-cutting plans.

The £250,000 figure is greater than the cost of an average house in every district in the North-East and North Yorkshire, according to the Conservatives.

The cheapest average properties are in Hartlepool (£76,131), but even the highest average in Harrogate (£230,859), North Yorkshire, is comfortably below the proposed new threshold.

Mr Howard said the plans would help first-time buyers get their feet on the housing ladder and families wanting to move into bigger homes.

But Chancellor Gordon Brown attacked Tory tax and spending plans as "irresponsible and ultimately fraudulent", saying the commitments could not be afforded.

Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, dismissed the stamp duty move as an "uncosted bribe" based on "fantasy economics".

Unveiling the policy, Mr Howard said more than 500,000 homebuyers would be freed from stamp duty every year. It was necessary because stamp duty was a "classic Labour stealth tax". The amount of money raised since 1997 had risen from £675m to £3.8m.

Mr Howard added: "Last year, average incomes fell for the first time in a decade - thanks to Mr Blair's punishing stealth taxes.

"It's time to offer practical help and that's what Conservatives will do."

Homelessness charity Shelter criticised the move, accusing the Tories of "raiding the public purse to promote private home ownership".

Last month, Labour doubled the stamp duty threshold to £120,000, and the Lib Dems have put forward a £150,000 cut-off.