A difficult period lies ahead for the Coalition on housing after the publication of its latest plan. The political problem is that it will be a considerable time before it is clear what impact it will have. And in the meantime, the familiar problems in the market will persist: sky-high rents, homelessness and locked-out buyers.
The challenge for Ministers is twofold – first to make sure the new plan is implemented relentlessly. And second is to hold their nerve and hope that it works. Neither of these things is going to be easy, especially as public confidence in housing delivery is so low and – as ever with policy change – many will be discommoded and will object. But for once, policy needs to tilt in favour of those needing a home and away from those who already have one.
Central to the housing story is the “locked-out” generation. I recently came across the case of a young woman looking to buy – let’s call her “Kate” – which illustrat
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