And nowhere has the pace of change been more apparent than in housing.
When the Great War ended, three-quarters of households in England were private renters, about a quarter were owner occupiers and less than 1% were in social housing.
The Housing & Town Planning Act 1919 forced local authorities to provide social housing and by 1939 the social rented sector had grown to 10%, with private renting declining to 58%.
Post Second World War, Britain was building at a rate of knots, and helped by rising wages, owning a home became more affordable. In fact owner occupation increased from 32% in 1953 to 42% in 1961.
By 1968, we were pumping out 352,000 properties a year and the production of new homes remained well above 200,000 per annum until 1980.
So what has changed over the course of the last century? Firstly, we no longer rely on one form of tenure to provide the majority of our housing. We now have a patchwork of different and overlapping tenures and that should be welcomed.
According to the latest English Housing Survey in 2012-13, 65% of households were owner occupiers, 18% were private renters and 17% were social renters. We also saw the lowest house building rates since 1923.
But the common problem, irrespective of tenure, is there’s just not enough supply in relation to our growing population.
For decades, across the political spectrum, housing has just not been tackled effectively. As I have said before, many times, tackling the housing challenge requires a coherent government strategy with a cabinet level housing minister at its heart.
The recent decision to combine housing and planning into one ministerial post and bump it up from an under-secretary position to Minister of State, demonstrates the growing awareness in government that housing needs a dedicated focus. But while it is a step in the right direction, it’s still not a full blown cabinet position.
The provision of adequate shelter is as essential to our nation’s prosperity as health, education and defence and it’s vital housing has a strong voice in government.
If we want to ensure the provision of housing over the next 100 years supports and grows with the country rather than holds it back, then now is the time for the government to literally build a better future.
Paul Broadhead is head of mortgage policy at the Building Societies Association
