"There is no way we can reduce Britain's sense of malaise and its febrile public mood down to a simple set of problems nor should progressives fall into the trap of assuming rightwing sentiment about asylum and immigration can be reduced to supposed bread-and-butter economic issues. But in my experience, one particular issue really does sit at the heart of the UK's sense of bitter disaffection: social housing, and our dire lack of it."
"But putting down a deposit and getting a mortgage remains way beyond many people's reach, not least at the younger end of the age range. Average rents for new private tenancies, meanwhile, are about 20% more expensive than three years ago. And one stark insistence continues to haunt our politics: the housing charity Shelter's spot-on claim that we need to build 90,000 new social homes a year to convincingly tackle a crisis that will not go away."
"Whenever I am out reporting, all this is self-evident. In most cities and towns (and, it has to be said, the kind of former Labour heartlands where people are now supporting Reform), a couple of hours of street-level conversations will always bring out people's desperate yearning for the kind of secure, dependable living arrangements that define happy lives not least, where relevant, for their children and grandchildren."
Britain's malaise and febrile public mood cannot be reduced to a simple set of problems, and rightwing sentiment on asylum and immigration is not solely an economic issue. A severe shortage of social housing sits at the heart of bitter disaffection. Home ownership remains out of reach for many, particularly younger people, while average rents for new private tenancies are about 20% higher than three years ago. Shelter estimates that 90,000 new social homes are needed each year. Street-level conversations reveal widespread yearning for secure, dependable housing for families. A £39bn programme aims to deliver at least 180,000 social-rent homes by 2035, a notable increase but leaving broader targets uncertain.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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