The Government received nearly £31.5bn in stamp duty in the first 10 years of Labour's administration, research shows.

The revenue raised by stamp duty on residential property increased markedly under Labour, soaring nearly eight-fold from £830m in 1997/98 to £6.5bn in 2006/07, according to financial adviser Grant Thornton.

The group said this represented an average annual increase of 26% between 1997/98 and 2006/07, compared with a 6% yearly rise in the total tax take for the Treasury during the same period.

When Labour took office there was a single stamp duty rate set at 1% on all properties worth more than £60,000, the report said.

But by July 8, 1997, a new 1.5% band was created for properties worth in excess of £250,000, while those worth more than £500,000 paid the tax at 2%.

These rates were later increased to 3% for properties worth more than £250,000 and 4% for ones worth more than £500,000 today.

The group is now calling for the tax to be reformed.

It said that although there had been some relief for first-time buyers after the threshold at which stamp duty applied was raised to £125,000 in 2006, in many areas of the country this is still well below the cost of even the cheapest property.

Karen Campbell, head of stamp taxes at Grant Thornton, said: "In light of high property prices and tighter lending conditions, first-time buyers are struggling to afford their first property, and stamp duty land tax, in no small way, is impeding millions of potential home-owners from jumping on the property ladder.

"Stamp duty land tax is the best weapon the Government has at its disposal in helping people onto the property ladder, but the Treasury has continued to neglect the aspirations of the middle classes and drag more revenue out of struggling first home-buyers."

The Conservatives have pledged to abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers purchasing homes costing less than £250,000 if they get into power.

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