The House is on Fire: Housing and the 2015 General Election

Abstract

Unlike previous elections, the 2015 general election saw housing move to the foreground of political debate. The visibility of the issue was increased by the rise of a housing activist movement that was given extensive coverage in the media but also by the worsening housing crisis which in turn made some of the policy decisions and manifesto announcements more controversial. The article examines these issues and tries to assess whether the higher visibility of housing influenced voting intentions and the election results.

Keywords

• housing
• activists
• housebuilding
• tenures
• Right to Buy.