On the wall of Ed Miliband’s office is a 1945 Labour poster promising “a non-stop drive to provide a good home for every family”. For the opposition leader, it is a permanent reminder of the need to emulate this crusade. The issue of housing is playing a greater role at this general election than at any other in recent history. Between 1992 and 2010, the subject was consigned to the lowly rung occupied by agriculture, energy and the arts. Once asked why New Labour devoted so little attention to housing in government, the former cabinet minister Hazel Blears candidly replied that no one was interested enough.
They are now. After increasing almost continuously throughout the 20th century, home ownership in England has declined to 63 per cent, the lowest level since 1985 and below the supposedly socialist France. The inexorable rise in prices is the inevitable consequence of too much demand chasing too little supply. Not since David Lloyd George occupied 10 Downing Street will a parliament have ended with so few homes having been built.
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