MR Gaster (Chronicle, Letters, August 29), states that, under pressure from the Government, building new homes to relieve the housing shortage "has clearly got to happen". Alas, this will not happen. It is illegal for building companies to relieve the shortage, because prices would fall, profits would fall, so the directors would not be acting in their shareholders' best interests. Local authorities and housing associations cannot afford to relieve the pressure, because, under Right To Buy, any houses they build must be sold at a fraction of the building cost to the lucky tenant.

At the last count, there were about a million sites where planning permission has been granted, but no start on building has taken place. Politicians’ mouthing about breaking down planning constraints is no more than a device to allow their chums to build mansions in the Green Belt. The fact is that a housing shortage is built into the system and will remain so until those afflicted by it stop bleating and form themselves into a political pressure group and actually go and vote, when they have the opportunity.

The country is run for the benefit of old people because old people vote. If 80 per cent of young people turned out to vote, politics in this country would change so swiftly and so dramatically that it would take your breath away. But young people can’t be bothered to vote, so they don’t care, so why should we silver-tops care about them.

Roger Stevens,
Cliff Way,
Compton,
Winchester

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