We all know that the UK has a housing crisis – it’s time we did something about it If I think about the moment my political career felt most worthwhile, it was not taking my seat in parliament […]

If I think about the moment my political career felt most worthwhile, it was not taking my seat in parliament or even being elected leader of my party – it was the day, as a newly elected MP, I visited a primary school in my constituency and one kid nudged another and asked: “Who is that?”

The answer came back: “That’s Tim Farron – he builds houses.”

Helping to get houses built is what I now want to do on a national scale.

i's opinion newsletter: talking points from today Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

First-hand experience

I embarked on a political career – casting aside youthful ambitions to become a rock star – after watching a re-run of Cathy Come Home, the heart-rending story about a couple’s descent into homelessness and poverty.

Growing up in Preston, I saw first-hand just how thin the line is between just about hanging on and falling into the abyss – through no fault of the person involved.

Everybody knows there is a housing shortage, especially among the next generation who often can’t afford to rent, let alone buy.

Political parties have thrown around housing targets, but the shovels are not being struck into the ground.

The time has come to act

So, the time for simply talking about the housing crisis is over; it’s time to act.

Ministers can no longer simply harp on about the problem, they need to start building the homes.

Today, I am making it clear that if developers won’t deliver the homes we need, we will.

The market is broken and has failed to deliver the 300,000 homes a year we need; homes to cover the new households formed each year, as well as the backlog of decades of failure to build.

Liberal Democrats are clear – we will not just tinker, but we will take the radical action needed to tackle this crisis.

The government must put on its hard hat

That means the government must put on its hard hat and become the builder, to fill the chasm left by the market.

We will push ahead with a programme of government-commissioned housing that will build around 50,000 homes a year.

We will also push private developers to think not just about profits but also about the speed of building by introducing penalties for land-banking where homes still haven’t been built after three years.

And we will invest an additional £3 billion, that housing associations and small businesses will be able to access to build homes.

Making homes affordable

As well as quantity, the need for more genuinely affordable homes is very clear.

The Conservative understanding of the word ‘affordable’ just doesn’t match up to that of many people on average wages – or without access to the Bank of Mum and Dad.

We will increase the number of social homes for rent by lifting the borrowing cap currently imposed on councils, and will also increase the number of affordable homes to buy, such as through shared ownership and other options.

More building schemes

We also need to scrap the exemptions on smaller housing development schemes from their obligation to provide affordable homes.

Too many developers get around the rules on small sites by only building nine (rather than ten) homes, so they don’t have to build any units that are affordable.

Lack of housebuilding over recent decades has put enormous pressure on the private rented sector, with 20% of people living in privately rented accommodation – double the percentage who did so ten years ago.

If we don’t build now, rents will keep soaring and those paying them will find it harder and harder to save for a deposit and get on the housing ladder.

Council houses matter

A key reason for the pressures is under-investment in social rented homes. Since Thatcher, and continued by Blair, hundreds of thousands of council homes have been sold off under Right to Buy, often ending up as “buy to lets”, and many never replaced.

This has forced many people who needed this type of housing into the private rented sector. The government finds itself paying far more in housing benefit, while landlords profit.

The situation is ludicrous and a worrying rise in homelessness – both visible and hidden – is the result.

A major concern

Knocking on doors in recent weeks has confirmed that housing, both its availability and its affordability, is a major concern of voters.

It is no longer seen as a problem just affecting London and the South East.

In rural areas, the lack of affordable housing has become a real problem, exiling many young people from the area where they grew up once they’ve left home.

But when there’s the political will, there’s a way.

Unlike other parties, the Liberal Democrats have both the political will and a credible plan – give us half a chance, and we’ll deliver it.