With Labour Party policies committed to lowering house prices and Conservatives committed to policies likely to maintain high house prices, it would seem that the battlelines for the next general election are already drawn.

 Across the political spectrum it is accepted that housing has become increasingly unaffordable and it is increasingly difficult for young people to afford rising rental costs or buy their first home. Indeed, the ONS reports that the percentage of 20-to 24-year-olds living with their parents rose from 44.5% in 2011, to 51% in 2021. With house prices and rental values in parts of the country being extremely high and interest rates continuing to rise, there is a prevailing view that the housing market is ‘broken’.