This election is a choice between more of the same or policies that face the housing crisis head-on

Discussing what the Conservative and Labour manifestos say on housing, Stewart Smyth concludes that, with the former, the prospects look bleak for those committed to social housing. Labour’s pledges, on the other hand, recognise both the full scale of the crisis and offer a series of related policies that have the necessary ambition to tackle it. With the party manifestos now published, it is possible to review and compare the two main parties’ policies on housing. Before doing so it is important to state that, despite the Conservatives’ aim to keep this election all about Brexit, when it comes to housing, the link to Brexit only exists at the most macro level – i.e. if Brexit causes an economic crash there will be less housebuilding.