Last week’s housing White Paper showed that the Government is well aware that the ludicrously high price of British property is a manifestation of terrible failure. Moreover, the document explicitly recognises that Britain’s housing crisis is not only about the unaffordability of houses to own but also about the appallingly high level of rents.

It clearly states that fundamentally, both prices and rents are high because, given our rising population, we have not built enough homes.  This is a welcome departure from so many previous Government initiatives, some of which are unfortunately still with us, that have focused on helping this or that “deserving” group to get on the “housing ladder”.

If all you do is to boost the demand for housing then the only result can be higher prices, without anyone, on average, enjoying any improvement in their accommodation. 

Having said that, there are several unimpressive aspects to this document. It used to be said that getting radical reform of the educational system faced enormous opposition from “the Blob”, that is to say the entrenched interests of teachers and civil servants. The housing market also has its Blob, and there is more than its fair share of sloppy thinking dotted around this document, including the ritual snipes at landlords and developers and references to “unfair” rents, whatever that means. 

David Fuller's view

The biggest housing crisis is in greater London.  One solution is to build more quality housing blocks with attractive middle-income flats, as we have been seeing in the expanding City and also in previously derelict sites as we also saw with the Olympic Village.  

Here is a PDF of Roger Bootle's article.