Theresa May's choking and a joker with a P45 aside, the Prime Minister's party conference speech, which placed housing centre stage, showed that the Government understands it needs to at least show a commitment to one of this generations most intractable issues – however underwhelming the proposals might have been.

Elsewhere, communities secretary Sajid Javid last week gave the clearest indication yet that he might be prepared to lift the housing revenue account (HRA) cap on a case-by-case basis – something local government has long asked for.