The Government has acknowledged that the housing crisis is one of the top long-term weaknesses affecting the UK economy, and that we need to address the unaffordability of housing and its impact on productivity as a matter of urgency.

We need a seismic shift in our groupthink about housing and home ownership to achieve this. We know we cannot carry on doing what we've always done because the evidence shows that year-on-year we have not built enough homes. The Government's Autumn Statement showed some encouraging signs that understand the issues we face and they will no longer stick rigidly to previous policies.