Is Labour really going to help get 80,000 people on the housing ladder over the next five years under its Freedom to Buy scheme, as it is claiming this morning? Given the rather light ambition of this target, I would say it probably has a chance of hitting that target, although it won’t transform the life-chances of young people.
According to the ONS, 51.4 per cent of 20 to 24-year-olds were still living with their parents, along with 26.7 per cent of 25 to 29-year-olds. That is several million people who in past generations might have been expected to be making their own way in the world – indeed, the figures above have grown substantially over the past decade: in 2011, 44.5 per cent of 20 to 24-year-olds and 20.1 per cent of 25 to 29-year-olds were living with their parents. As for those who have managed to move out of the parental home, many are renting rather than buying.
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