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Poll finds majority of Conservative voters think the UK should build more social housing
Almost three-quarters of Conservative voters believe the UK needs more social housing, according to a new YouGov survey.
A YouGov poll has revealed that 74% of Conservative voters agreed that more social housing should be built #UKhousingThe poll, commissioned by The i newspaper and conducted online between 3 and 4 April, found that 74% agreed more social housing should be built.
Of the 2,112 British adults surveyed, 15% disagreed, while 11% said they did not know.
Around 71% of those surveyed who voted Conservative in the 2019 general election agreed that more social housing was needed, compared to 82% of Labour voters.
A total of 82% agreed that it was “difficult” for young Britons to access adequate housing, and 80% of Conservative voters agreed with this notion, compared to 88 per cent of Labour voters.
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In addition, 78% of Britons said access to adequate housing should be a human right, while 11% disagreed and 11% said they did not know.
According to homelessness charity Shelter, more than one million households are on waiting lists for social housing, with 1.4 million fewer households currently living in social housing than in 1980.
The charity says that since 1991 there has been an average annual net loss of 24,000 social homes as more are being sold or demolished than built.
Shadow housing secretary Lisa Nandy told The i that Conservatives had “turned housing into a racket” following 10 years “of drift and decay”.
The poll comes after it was announced that the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee will begin an inquiry into the financial pressures facing social landlords and the resources needed to build thousands of new homes for social rent.
The government also revealed earlier this month that councils will be able to keep 100% of funds from Right to Buy sales for two years, in an effort to boost housebuilding.
In response to the poll, a spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities told The i: “We are committed to building more social homes and are investing £11.5bn through our Affordable Homes Programme to deliver tens of thousands of homes for rent and sale right across the country.
“We’ve also taken steps to increase the amount of money councils can keep when they sell social homes. Over £4.1bn of Right to Buy sales has been reinvested in new affordable housing by councils since 2012.”
Inside Housing published the findings of a new report in March, which estimated that around 280,000 homes could be delivered through community-led projects if there was more support from the government, housing associations, councils and developers.
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