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 

Candour: open, honest and direct. Our working classes fit the mould very well: our middle and upper classes much less so. Our political classes, governments and public services are interested more in their narrow vested interests, and in perpetuating the status quo - and their places within that - than in pursuing the better interests of broader society.

Courage: being brave. Willing to fight for, and do, what is right and to accept the consequences, willing to admit mistakes and rectify them, change direction when the chosen path is clearly questionable or wrong.

Integrity: trustworthiness. Reliably and demonstrably honour and deliver against commitments made.

Reason: knowledge, data and logic based decisions and actions over emotions and faith / superstition based rationale. Modern, science and data / logic based, education must replace indoctrination. Neither religious nor so-called 'cultural' historic doctrines can be allowed to influence the healthy development of intelligent, inquisitive minds.

These are the core aspects of identity that we need to embrace, as individual citizens, and demand of those in government, public services and business. All of these organisations currently pay serious 'lip-service' to such ideals, but far more often act in secretive, self-protectionist mode. Far and away the biggest barrier to our progression as a genuinely open society, where opportunity is there for all in society rather than those lucky enough to be born into privilege, is that oldest of British afflictions - NIMBY-ism.

1.  History shows time and again that it is far easier for societies to fall apart than to endure and grow. There must be a strong fundamental glue that binds and holds together the disparate elements that constitute any society. (The word 'culture' has been abused and de-based and so is not used here within Poprimus as any serious societal factor).  The binding constituents of 'society glue' are shared beliefs with regard to Identity, Attitude and Conduct.

2. The bare bones of a healthy, functioning society are Citizens, and Enterprise. Government and Public Services are required to provide a secure framework for citizens and enterprises and support in the provisions of fundamental services that cannot (from either an economic or societal perspective, or both ) be left purely to private enterprise. Maintaining the optimum balance required between Citizens / Enterprise on the one hand and Government / Public Services on the other is an existential challenge. Citizens and Enterprises generate wealth, Government and Public Services consume wealth. When Government and Public Service expenditure outstrip the wealth generated by citizens and enterprises over a long period of time society will eventually collapse in on itself because of the weight of the load. UK Public Sector Debt (excluding Public Sector Pensions Liability) now exceeds GDP at over £2.5 trillion. The Public Sector Pensions Liability stands far in excess of even that figure with some estimating the liability at approaching £4 trillion.

3. Whilst ideology has taken on negative implications in recent decades, a society, and the government of that society, without a formal constitution based upon values and principles is as certain to fall as any multi-storey building constructed without solid and strong foundations. No modern UK mainstream political parties operate seriously within a framework of a carefully designed and executed value based constitution and principle enforced justice system. Manifestos are drawn up as window dressing for every election based upon nothing more than a political parties interpretation of broad brush and superficial opinion polls. Strategic investment, development and prosperity are therefore almost impossible to plan and execute. Political parties, devoid of any principles aim only to remain in power and ride the gravy train for as long as possible. How can anyone seriously wonder why we are sinking deeper and eeper into shit?

4. Open and transparent government would seem to be the