While increases in house prices indicate a growing economy it also highlights an underlying problem in supply. The less of anything you have the more valuable it becomes.

The Labour Council in Southampton promised to build an affordable house for every day they are in office. They have been in charge for four years and by their own measurement they ought now to have provided some 1500 new affordable homes.

What we actually see are sites, which should by now have been redeveloped, months and months behind schedule and estates redevelopment such as Townhill Park not yet even started.

On May 5 Southampton’s voters will get the chance to remove Labour and install a dynamic Conservative Council who will crack on and build some new homes for the thousands of hard working families who are being prevented from getting on the property ladder.