Brick by Brick

Our ‘property-owning democracy’ is no longer working. The home ownership rate in England peaked in 2003 at 71 per cent of households; today, the private housing markets for both sale and rent are so expensive relative to people’s incomes that they fail the test of security for far too many. Government changes to welfare benefits and the development model for social housing since 2010 have also left those on the lowest incomes with few or no affordable choices and placed many in an intractable poverty trap.

The election of a new Labour government provides a vital opportunity to rethink our housing ethos and remake the market. To do so, argues Simon Graham, we must be clear eyed about the relationship between our society and the land that it sits on.

In this pamphlet, Graham traces the history of land and development in Britain and Europe, and reaches a conclusion that is simple, radical, and above all hopeful: if it chooses to, the state can ensure everyone’s housing needs are met.