The governor of the Bank of England has warned that house prices pushed up by a shortage of new homes is that biggest threat to the UK’s economic recovery.
The causes of the crisis that engulfed the global economy and its financial markets were not special or unique, even though the consequences were unprecedented for most of us. It is true that this crisis had some unique characteristics, in particular the role that credit derivatives played in inflating the credit bubble. But in the end the main cause was all too familiar: too many greedy bankers lending too much money to too many people who could not afford to pay them back.
Britain is currently in the throes of an energy crisis. The decision by British Gas and N Power to dramatically hike their prices will only increase the number of families choosing between heating and eating this winter.
David Cameron will bring forward the launch of the Tories’ Help to Buy scheme, ignoring warnings that the plan will inflate the housing bubble.
House prices rose by 3.1% in the first half of 2013 according to the Office of National Statistics