YOU BABY BOOMERS ARE SO SELFISH

Minister blames housing shortage on mortgage-free elderly and declares ...

BABY boomers living mortgagefree stand accused of ‘not facing up to the reality’ of how the housing crisis affects the young.

Sajid Javid, who is in charge of housing policy, yesterday attacked the over-60s for resisting changes needed to kick-start house building.

The Communities Secretary claimed older people had ‘no understanding’ of the problems and were ‘living in a different world’.

But critics said his remarks were ‘patronising’ and ‘divisive’. Speaking in Bristol, the minister piled pressure on Chancellor Philip Hammond to release billions for housing in next week’s Budget.

Mr Javid, a frequent critic of so- called Nimbys, said it was time to deliver ‘moral justice’ for the young – and warned older people they would not be permitted to stand in the way of a massive house building drive.

Figures released yesterday showed a total of 217,350 homes were built last year – the highest level since the financial crisis. But Mr Javid said more

were needed, adding: ‘What we need now is a giant leap … I still hear from those who say that there isn’t a problem with housing … that affordability is only a problem for millennials that spend too much on nights out and smashed avocados.

‘It’s nonsense. The people who tell me this – usually baby boomers who have long-since paid off their own mortgage – they are living in a different world.

‘They’re not facing up to the reality of modern daily life and have no understanding of the modern market.’

His intervention was part of a move with Theresa May designed to pressure Mr Hammond into including radical plans for house building in the Budget.

In a separate speech, the Prime Minister vowed to ‘fix the broken housing market’, saying she had ‘made it my mission to build the homes the country needs’.

Home ownership has fallen to a 30-year low, and Mr Javid said the average age of a first-time buyer has risen to 32.

But the Chancellor is still refusing to release the purse strings. In an interview on Wednesday he acknowledged the need to increase house building, but warned there was ‘no silver bullet’ to achieve it.

Government sources said the Chancellor had rejected Mr Javid’s demand for a £50billion cash injection to fund a massive building drive. He is expected to fund more modest measures, including a stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers.

He has warned he cannot tear up his plans for tackling the public finances – meaning any major programme would have to be funded through tax rises.

In an apparent bid to force Mr Hammond to act, Mr Javid said: ‘In next week’s Budget you’ll see just how seriously we take this challenge, just how hard we’re willing to fight to get Britain building.’

He also put 15 councils ‘on notice’ that they faced direct intervention from the Government unless they come forward with plans for significant house building.

Lib Dem housing spokesman Wera Hobhouse last night criticised Mr Javid for his attack on baby boomers. She said: ‘This kind of language is divisive and unnecessarily sets one generation against another. It is patronising to tell those who have worked hard all their lives to buy a home and raise their children that they don’t understand the housing market.

‘Instead of blaming baby boomers, Sajid Javid should take responsibility for sorting out the housing crisis.’ Many Tories believe a massive house building boost is needed if the party is to have any hope of reconnecting with younger voters.

Ex-minister Robert Halfon said: ‘Sajid is right in the sense that we desperately need new housing … we desperately need to ensure young people can afford those homes. The problem is that some don’t necessarily understand the difficulties younger people have.’

Mr Javid said a generation of young people was ‘crying out for help with housing’. He said Britain was in danger of cre- ating a ‘rootless generation’, who would ‘reach retirement with no property to call their own and pension pots that have not been filled because so much of their income has gone on rent’.

He added: ‘If, like me, you believe in the importance of a strong, stable family unit … then you must also accept that homes should be made available.’

Mr Hammond has been pushing Mrs May to agree the relaxation of planning rules for the Green Belt. But she vetoed the idea following Tory warnings it would cause a public backlash in key seats.

The latest edition of the English Housing Survey in March shows there were 22.8million households in England. Among the 14.3million owner-occupiers, 7.7million owned their property outright, while 6.6million still had a mortgage.

The Chancellor was handed a £70billion boost as debt held by housing associations was wiped off the Government’s books. The associations will be reclassified as private instead of public, meaning they do not have to be included in government accounting. It potentially gives him more wriggle room for Budget giveaways.

‘Fight to get Britain building’