Young Conservatives Say MPs Don’t Understand the Housing Crisis

Recent polling from Blue Beyond, shows Beyonders opinions on housing

House building is one of the defining issues of our time.

Research conducted by Blue Beyond has concluded the consequences are more pronounced for young people. Our housing survey found 2 in 3 Beyonders spend between 25-50% of their income on rent, while nearly 10% find more than half of their income is eaten by rental costs.

72% of our members told us they believe government housing policy has not had the interests of young people in mind, while 42% (a plurality) told us they could not name a single housing policy that has yielded positive results for young people over the last five years.

Over half of our members told us MPs are “not at all aware” or only “slightly aware” of how the housing crisis affects young people.

Qualitative research determined many of our members believe reducing planning laws, relaxing construction regulations on green belt land, and lowering net migration could alleviate pressure on the housing industry. While other sighted more high-rise construction as a credible solution in densely populated areas.

Despite concerns over the government’s housing strategy, 58% of members said they believed the Conservative Party had the better housing policies, compared with 22% who said Labour and a combined 20% who backed another party’s strategy.

Olivia Lever, Blue Beyond Director said:

“We strongly encourage MPs, CCHQ and the Government to listen to what our members have to say. The Conservative Party is supposed to be the party of aspiration, yet some of our members feel they will never own their own home.

“More must be done to benefit young people when developing housing policy, to ensure the Party doesn’t alienate potential future voters.”