The economic problems facing the next prime minister

While older people are more likely to vote, it’s the younger generations who feel the most short-changed.

With home prices rising more slowly than incomes, buying a first-time home is more feasible than it was a few years ago. At the start of the year, the National Association of Architects reported that mortgage payments accounted for one-third of home payments — down from 48 percent in 1989.

But for today’s prospective buyers, the combination of high rental costs makes it difficult to save for a deposit. This is partly because the average age of a first-time buyer has grown in recent years.

The most sustainable solution is to build more houses, but the government is behind the target. The number of new homes fell by 6% last year and was 300,000 short of the government’s target.

Andy Burnham wants to build more social housing, which will help. But, as successive governments have discovered, it is not easy.

Housing is one of several big plans Burnham has hinted at to cure our recession, but it must contend with a challenging legacy.

Ironically, the easiest way to finance the plans is to attract fast-growing prey.

Like many before him, Andy Burnham’s view seems to be that you have to spend a lot of money to make money. But whose money?