One thing I really have against the Conservative Government is the crazy approach to housing in the UK.
- We allow in 300,000 immigrants a year and build at best 100,000 new units
- We have easy laws on renting and make that profitable (recently changed I accept) whilst making mortgages hard to get for new buyers
- There is plenty of land, but planning permission is granted in a very restrictive way
- when the Government did act, in the Budget, it has caused a huge spike in Buy to Let purchases that have led to this 9% price rise.
This 9% is a big number, £15,000 + - a huge amount for anyone wanting to buy a house.
Also, every time house prices rise it further locks in the unequal society of the rich over-60's vs the poor under 30's; evermore split as the latter have no savings or assets and the former see theirs rise tax free month in and month out.
It is a very sad state of affairs and I despair that no Government has the guts to make the changes. This current Government has made buying property more expensive and raised taxes, but this seems to have done little (unsurprisingly) to have fixed the underlying issues.
I would expect come 2020 Housing will be right up their with the NHS in terms of peoples' concerns about the state of the nation.
