The population of England and Wales at 40 year intervals

1851 18 million
1891 29 million
1931 40 million
1971 49 million
2011 56 million

The rate of population increase has been slowing despite immigation. After the 2nd world war there was a concerted effort to house people in decent conditions. There was massive housebuilding. Immigration is just an excuse. If we built 300,000 homes a year we would soon make real inroads into the housing crisis. During the 80s and 90s council housing was denigrated by a conservative media campaign to paint all estates as borderline slums populated by scum. There was a widespread view that council estates were the last refuge for the desperate. I should point out that I grew up in Cambridge and this view may not have gained so much traction in London. No-one was going to build council housing and selling it off could only be a "civilising" influence. Nowadays many are jealous of council housing's relatively cheap rents and secure tenancies. Despite that negative connotations persist, new housing developments boast about their lack of social housing.

When you see documentaries like those about families made homeless you realise how tough it can be for the poor. These are the real victims of the housing crisis. I have to pay an oversize mortgage, they don't know where they will be living in a month's time. They also live in cramped accomodation that is often damp and/or infested with vermin. Immigration is an easy excuse for politicians to do nothing. Especially as many MPs directly profit from high housing costs. Not only do they blame immigration but they can then point at Europe as the cause. No mention that a substantial proportion of immigration comes from outside the EU. It is misdirection. They blame immigration because they would rather do that than take on the nimbies or the builders.

Lewisham Council are in a difficult position. They are hugely constrained by central Government.

If we were to start building a lot more houses it would also be a signifiant boost to the economy.