As our exit from Europe continues to dominate daily politics, other, vitally important areas are being neglected. So what should our politicians’ priorities be once we are beyond Brexit? We asked our contributors to draw up a pledge card for a post-Brexit manifesto.
1. Release land, to end the housing crisis
The average UK home costs eight times the median salary, rising to 12 times in London and the South East. While this is partly due to quantitative easing and loose credit conditions, the underlying reason so many youngsters are priced out of property ownership is that, for decades, we haven’t built enough homes.
The Help to Buy scheme has stoked up demand, helping over-powerful developers to make super-normal profits while producing sub-standard, under-sized homes. Reform must focus on supply – particularly changes to the 1961 Land Compensation Act, with the state using compulsory purchase if necessary to release acreage. Landowners must be fairly compensated of course, but we must avoid letting sky-high land prices feed through into the house prices faced by ordinary home-buyers.
Our opaque, dysfunctional land market is at the root of our housing crisis – which is causing misery among not only millions of aspiring homeowners, but also those in need of decent social housing. The Letwin Review explored these issues but stopped well short of tackling the vested interests – or recommending changes to existing legislation, which would be required to solve this enduring problem.
2. Scrap HS2, the most expensive railway ever conceived
The original case for HS2 – speed – has been seriously undermined by growing internet connectivity, which facilitates work on trains. The case then shifted to capacity – but the London-to-Birmingham route is already well-served, with trains only 43% full, on average.
More recently, HS2 – which is scheduled to extend from the Midlands to Manchester and Leeds – has been sold as a way of addressing the North-South divide. Yet cost-benefit analysis suggests that building better rail links between our big Northern cities – creating an alternative growth centre to London and the South East – is a far better use of public funds.
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