Lack of affordable housing is destroying hopes, aspirations and pride in our country.

Housing

The lack of decent, affordable housing for working people today lies at the very heart of our most serious problems as a society.

The problem dates back to the 'Right to Buy' policy that began with the Housing Act 1980 decades to the subsidised sale of council houses to tenants. Absolutely fine in principle, but with 1.7 million council properties sold by 1997 and nowhere near that number built with funds received, social housing properties have fell from 6.5 million to circa 2 million between 1979 and 2017.  A loss of over 4 million social housing units when UK population has risen from 55 million in 1979 to just under 70 million in 2025.

Private housing over that period at an assumed average (no organisation appears keen to provide detailed figures) of 140,000 units per year would provide approximately 6 million new homes over that period.

The average 7 year old might be able to understand the problems of a net 2 million increase in housing stock to cope with an additional population of 15 million even though politicians of all persuasion have repeatedly failed to do so.

The real life impact for all but those too wealthy to worry is stark. Average house prices today sit at 8.8 times the average earnings, more than doubling since the 1970s. In London the picture is far worse with up to 12 to 16 times being the figures depending upon area.

With monthly property payments accounting for close to 50% of net income for many life is incredibly tough and the prospects of personal advancement bleak. Yet we wonder why so many of the younger population simply opt out of the traditional ( and necessary ) work life ethos.

As bad as other factors may be, nothing comes close to being as important to the future health of our society as the affordability of decent housing so that the population can actually live and enjoy the rewards of their labour.

 Successive governments have not only failed