YIMBYs are right about planning reform, but we must also urgently tackle our broken property tax system to beat the housing crisis, writes Mitchell Palmer

It’s no secret that the UK has a housing crisis. For every 1,000 residents, England has only 441 dwellings, compared to 517 on average in the EU. Last year, fewer than 5,000 homes were started in all of London. This chronic undersupply has driven average UK house prices to nine times the average income, locking a generation out of home ownership and undermining economic growth.

At long last, our political elites seem to be waking up to the seriousness of this crisis. In fact, across the political spectrum, YIMBYism is in vogue.

At the Labour conference, newly appointed housing secretary Chris Reed got the rockstar treatment, greeting queues of fans lining up for him to sign dusty red ‘build baby build’ hats. Labour are banking on unlocking new houses and infrastructure as part of their mission to get Britain growing.

On the right, the glitzy launch of Conservative YIMBY earlier this summer signalled a clear shift in tone. The Conservative movement is realising that any electoral recovery necessitates a plan to get Britain........

© City A.M.