More than half of Scottish adults would switch votes to back party that pledges to tackle housing crisis, survey finds

Gordon Llewellyn-MacRae, assistant director of Shelter Scotland, said: “This research is clear. People in Scotland know there is a housing emergency, they support social housebuilding as the best solution and it significantly impacts on their decisions as voters.”

He added: “It is an outrage that every party leader knows the solution is to build more social homes, but they seem too scared to act.

“Now, thanks to this research, they know that voters will back them if they just get on and deliver the homes people in Scotland so desperately need. Our politicians must have the courage of their convictions and deliver.”

The rate of social housebuilding starts in Scotland fell to the lowest level last year and the country has 18,000 households in temporary accommodation, including 10,000 children.

The most recent Scottish National Party (SNP) administration declared a national housing emergency two years ago and later changed the law to give councils the ability to impose rent controls.

Earlier this year, it pledged £4.1bn in public grants to fund social housebuilding over the next parliament, as well as setting up a national housing agency to speed up delivery.

The survey also found that two-thirds agreed that the country is facing a housing emergency, although just under half said it is affecting their local area.

Housing did not appear in the top five issues that voters said would be most important in influencing which party they decide to support. Housing ranked behind the cost of living, healthcare and the NHS, the economy, immigration and asylum, and Scottish independence.

Mark Diffley, founder and director of Diffley Partnership, said: “As we approach the election, this poll demonstrates a clear relationship between housing policy and voters’ decisions.

“Scots are aware of the housing emergency, are concerned about its impacts, and there’s an appetite for the new parliament to present a plan to address the housing emergency early on.

“The data also indicates potential for housing policy to influence vote switching, with a majority saying they would consider changing their second vote if another party had clear policies which they liked.”