Breaking point looming for housing dreams

Yvette Cooper, the housing minister, in a recent statement to the BBC accused conservative councils of undermining programmes aimed at increasing the UK’s housing stock by opposing new developments and building schemes. According to Ms Cooper, there are now 1.8 million more homeowners in Britain than there were in 1997, with house prices soaring because not enough new homes are being built. Yet she claims that more homes are being built now than in any year since 1990. And housing charity Shelter has just called on the government to build 20,000 extra social homes each year from 2008-11...