‘Affordable’ housing

We have heard a number of politicians make calls for more affordable housing.

For a wealthy country like the UK, this is a very straightforward proposition.

All we need to do is to make something else a lot more expensive.

That is the other side of the equation that is rarely advertised and yet is the inevitable consequence of making something more affordable.

At the heart of this debate is an old reality, that in economics there are no solutions, only trade-offs and a market economy makes the terms of those trade-offs plain through price tags.

We can, of course, through subsidy, have artificially low-cost housing; this leads to artificially low supplies and, before long, artificially long waiting lists.

Next time you hear any politician proposing to make something more affordable, ask them what they intend to make more expensive.

It should keep them quiet for a bit.

Cllr Martyn Cox Westhoughton North and Chew Moor Regent Drive Bolton