"Young people have a right to own their home. That trumps your right to walk your dog!” | LBC debate

[@247HALOMASTER]

My parents bought their first house at 23 in the 1980s. I’m 23 now, more educated with a degree, I work 12 hour days and I can’t see a future where I’ll ever be able to afford a home in this economy.

[@LittleBanditMicra]

It’s a sad state of affairs for most. What did you study at university?

[@sarahnewton2550]

Unless wealth inequality is addressed im afraid you never will own a home (baring a lottery win or windfall). Rich folk are buying up all the assets pushing the pricing up, even after Covid (where they got even richer still), there’s two things that can be done 1) address wealth inequality 2) build more housing 3) bring the competition right down. I think option 3 in the form of total economic collapse where ordinary people simply can’t afford anything whatsoever, looks to be the course we’re on.

[@AEgonCholakian]

Move to Newcastle.

[@stevec6427]

I work with people in their early 30's with a masters in Engineering and an excellent career who can't afford to buy yet I managed to buy at 21 years old as an apprentice toolmaker in the 90's. It's all very wrong. Anyone in a professional or skilled job should be able to afford a house.

[@sarahnewton2550]

@@stevec6427 same here. Only just managed to scrape a home in zone 4 in 2020 despite being a C suite executive at a ftse 100 company. No one is going to play a violin for me but it was totally not worth working my way up this ladder to be in a home exactly the same size as my parents who had blue collar jobs. Work doesn’t pay. Even in the 6 figure range in London. Not if you want a home and don’t have a cracking deposit.

[@phueal]

I live in one of those little Kentish villages, full of NIMBYs, and there is such hypocrisy. In one breath they complain about proposals for housebuilding, and in the next one those very same people complain that their children and grandchildren can't afford to live in the village that they grew up in.

[@Edward-cv2gw]

Well why do you live there ? I assume because it's nice,why is it nice because it's green quaint and pretty. Will it stay pretty if it's bulldozed through and becomes built up? No. So you're a hypocrite

[@phueal]

@@Edward-cv2gw a lot of assumptions in your message! I live in this village because it’s close to my in-laws, and we were able to find a cheap house in it. I’ll be glad if someone builds on land near it - obviously that won’t benefit me, but it will inordinately benefit others in my generation. There have been proposals for that and I’ve written to councillors in support of them, although my voice has been drowned out by NIMBYs in my village.

[@Edward-cv2gw]

@phueal Have you ever considered moving to Newham or Whitechapel ? I think you'd like it, it's built up and densely populated, and then you could sell your home to someone who actually appreciates living in tranquil Kent. Makes sense to me.

[@barryboom717]

@@Edward-cv2gw You joined KZbin 1 week ago, where have you been in the 15 years Google has dominated the internet, social media and mobile operating system markets.

[@ducx23]

a lot don't mind a plot of land being build on and a new family comes. They tend to have more issues with big companies, buying the land and building a houses or chain of houses or a apartment block on it. places that are generally low in space. It is about too much money chasing too little goods, and some groups/persons have relatively too much money.

[@MattPlaysWithHimself]

What I always hear boomers say “stop buying £5 coffees” or “you should make better life choices” It all boils down to “I’m alright jack”

[@JoelJoel321]

Well they're not wrong on the coffees. It does all add up. Speaking as a 30 something that gave up many luxuries 20s enjoy to get on the ladder.

[@MattPlaysWithHimself]

@@JoelJoel321 drinking the odd coffee doesn’t amount to much. It’s a lame excuse for lacking empathy for young people in a situation that these boomers created.

[@JoelJoel321]

@@MattPlaysWithHimself Agree on the odd coffee. But buying a premium coffee every morning and buying lunch every day, rather than bringing a packed lunch to the office - it adds up. At the same time, Boomers definitely had it easier, and could have afforded both these things and saving for a house. They didn't even need to save for a deposit.

[@MattPlaysWithHimself]

@@JoelJoel321 indeed. House prices have risen 600% relative to income since 1980

[@TomMAF4]

@@JoelJoel321there of course is truth to that, but it’s its used to say that’s why young people are struggling today when it’s actually systemic economic issues that are the reasons.

[@lotrnerd5037]

I get preserving nature. I’m privileged enough to live in a sparsely populated bit of America, where our forests are in and around our cities. But needing shelter means developing REASONABLE housing for all peoples because housing is a human right.

[@AdamantJHS]

Comparing a country that has the vast open space of America to a country that is smaller than some US states is like comparing apples to oranges.

[@AB-zl4nh]

96% of the UK is grass, farm & forest. The UK needs 300,000 housing units a year for a few years to meet demand. London alone has enough space for 1 million housing units by just building 2 or 3 stories on current housing. The UK has so much space that it's unreal, but people don't understand the facts. If we allowed London, Birmingham, and Manchester to become taller, the UK would meet its annual housing demand for decades.

[@keifer7813]

​@@AB-zl4nhBut muh fields!

[@sarangistudent8614]

The same people talking about nature and preserving wildlife won’t complain when Truss mentions fracking or when tories give loads of new oil drilling licenses.

[@brianferguson7840]

I am one of the generation who benefited hugely and unfairly from the ridiculous rises in house values. I'm not ashamed of it, but I am deeply saddened by it and feel sorry for younger people who won't be as "lucky" as me. I am not in this position through "hard work, saving, and not having Netflix"! It's just because I was born in the 60s !

[@sarahnewton2550]

It’s refreshing to hear a bit of honesty

[@scarterw2]

Why not sell up and give half of what you havve to some deserving youngster? I mean, if you didn't earn it you don't really deserve to keep it - do you?

[@scottcook2643]

Thank you for being honest - and I genuinely don't blame you, either! If we were given the opportunities today that you had I know for a fact we'd all have jumped at it and done the same. You have a great viewpoint - it's nothing to be ashamed of but also being aware of how lucky it was and, as Lewis said, not pulling the ladder up behind you.

[@Krautkopf89]

@@scarterw2 half isn't enough to change anything for the yougster and whoever buys up the house would only do so to profit from high rent, making the problem worse.

[@barryboom717]

It’s a sad state but it’s not your fault, anyone would make the most of whatever situation they find themselves in. The sad part is the belief some people hold that the cards haven’t been stacked in their favour and they got it through hard grit and no Netflix.

[@pablosjouke]

I had my uncle during christmas dinner tell me he is part of a protest group, against building appartment flats in his 500k city centre, because "it would ruin the sun in his backyard". "yes, I get that there's a crisis for affordable housing, but what about my backyard?!?" Needless to say, I lost all respect for that man at that christmasday...

[@catherinemartin6258]

The older generation are selfish younger people need homes as well for gods sake, well said Lewis

[@globalist1990]

You can build on urbanised areas

[@TomMAF4]

@@globalist1990someone should have said that when they were building your house then I guess?

[@IRGeamer]

@@globalist1990"You can build on urbanised areas" ----> "Just build on top of what was already there!!!! The previous owners couldn't possibly have a right to the land they own!!!" /s “The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” - John Kenneth Galbraith "I don't have a problem with ignorance. We are all ignorant about a variety of subjects we are not currently aware of. The real problem is when that ignorance is wilful, intentional and used as a weapon against anyone who disagrees with you, or anyone who has the nerve to present facts you don't want to accept." - anyone who actually cares about verifiable reality

[@globalist1990]

@@IRGeamer what? There's loads of empty space in urbanised areas. You guys must be having a laugh. Derelict buildings, empty homes. Empty land within any city/town urban area. Why tf would you want to destroy nature which takes decades to take hold, or farmland which is precious and not that widespread, not every piece of land can be used to farm, like no town or city should have ever been built on river beds. You're the ones working for the status quo, instead of challenging the speculative housing market, you want to destroy non-human resources.

[@julieknights1238]

We didn't all have it all given to us on a plate. I don't own my home, I worked hard all my life, and have very little to show for it, mainly because what I did earn was used to help others. Don't tar all old people with the same brush.

[@GJAllKnowing]

"Dont want to be like India" 😮 Alright mate, say what you really think 😅

[@TBakerXD]

Accidentally said the quiet part out loud

[@johnrussell3961]

What about South Africa? Were those doing low paid jobs in the towns live in shanty towns outside!

[@XAVR_]

​@@johnrussell3961 Not much better than London, you should see the state of some of the old council estates in East

[@sarahnewton2550]

I didn’t even get to that before I turned this nimby off

[@Cashback13]

Love how he Think that building houses is going to make the population suddenly jump from 70 million to 1000 million, 3 times the size of the population of the United States...

[@LazlowUK]

of course he owned his own home lol

[@AG-kb7yb]

Doubt it judging by his intelligence level

[@kalebdaark100]

...and he probably bought his first home in his early to mid 20s.

[@paulbird3235]

Sound's as if he "owns" all of his village, bet he is a lovely neighbour!.

[@deelawdazhahs1078]

Shall we also Let people like Jonathan perish in old age without “immigrants” to look after him, in his own home.

[@salford6]

Immigrants can do more than just look after old people fyi 👍🏿

[@kityhawk2000]

Well... you reap what you sow

[@deelawdazhahs1078]

@@salford6just commenting in the context of the video

[@TazBo-wd2ig]

The problem is this country allows the rich to get richer! The law should be you can only buy 2 houses maximum! If you are a landlord with 50 houses then sell up, houses should never be used as a business, go and find something else to do because there are not enough affordable houses and if they do get built, more land lords buy them and rent them.

[@johnrussell3961]

When the stock market stopped growing at 10% per annum, many shifted into property as rents rise at 10% per annum.. They base that on return on asset value. They want a return of 8% of asset value every year. And asset values had been rising at 10% a year until recent events,

[@TazBo-wd2ig]

@@johnrussell3961 every house my wife and I have seen has been snapped up by developers. They come in with their team, outbid us and then turn them into a buy to let. I am talking about 6-7 houses and it’s insane. They don’t care about the loss a lot of them do it for foreign investors so they can build a portfolio.

[@sarahnewton2550]

Or….. *grabs pearls* tax the rich! This bringing down wealth inequality and allowing everyone to be able to afford a home.

[@johnrussell3961]

@@sarahnewton2550 . Tory answer is longer mortgages. So the monthly payments are lower , but you still have mortgage debt when you die.

[@sarahnewton2550]

@@johnrussell3961 Yeah of course it is. Keep the older generations happy with their house value and force the young to pay ridiculous prices into the retirement home. There’s another way. If we don’t choose it soon there will be economic collapse

[@PaulK-ve1pu]

The UK population was 55 million when I was born. It's touching 70 million now and many more people live alone. I'm afraid more houses will need to be built. Prices need to come down and we should desist from having an economy built on the housing market.

[@LouisF10]

5.9% of the UK is built on and 2.5% is what might be called green urban - parks and gardens, golf courses and sports pitches. There's plenty of room

[@leecourtney1225]

Agree. This is the lie we are all fed 'we are overpopulated', we may be too densely populated which is why 'new towns' need to be built on this rural land, rather than simply expanding already huge towns and cities. Next time people go up in a plane look out of the window and you will see swathes of empty green fields (not nature by any means, very much man made)

[@LittleBanditMicra]

Exactly! When flying across the UK, all you see is fields! 😂

[@martinrobinson9061]

Johnathan is everything wrong with the UK at the moment. Standard I’m all right Jack.

[@AG-kb7yb]

Jonathan ringing in a talk show to have a conversation with himself 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@pjay3028]

I am sick and tired of people of my generation complaining about stuff like this. We've had every advantage and have devastated the environment and the economy for the younger generations. And people are so staggeringly selfish they can't see it. This idiot is even more extreme than most though.....

[@carolewynn9407]

Devastated the environment ?? Well you may have done, considering there were very few plastics, central heating for the few, one car for the few. We are one of the most "green" generations, recycled everything, rarely bought clothes, mended, walked everywhere, and no foreign holidays.

[@firebyrd437]

​@@carolewynn9407your right, I'm fed up of boomers being blamed for everything

[@Sovereign-kh4ng]

Its not just "Young people", I'm sick of hearing about that, its people my age, in my mid 30's who have been DENIED the chance to own their own home and will be renting forever as well. I earn 30k a year, my partner earns 24k and WE can't afford a mortgage or housing deposit at the moment. Its unfair to focus on Gen Z when Millennials have suffered in silence for years because of boomers. I come from the Isle of Wight and the amount of people waiting for Godot there is insane, the council can't building anything new without old rich people kicking up a fuss.

[@PennyTaylor-iz2qt]

True dat! 37 year old here, stuck in the renting trap... there were no graduate level jobs available where I grew up when I graduated (graduated in 2009, for my sins,) so I couldn't live at home and save, but paying rent, and now childcare as well, means I've never stood a chance of saving a deposit to buy. I don't want life handed to me on a plate, I don't want handouts... I just want a fair chance.

[@jamieakahenry]

That's bad. I moved to the cheaper area; it is possible you just have to move. I know people shouldn't have to move, but if you want to be on the property ladder nowadays, you have to. There is no way I could afford London or city area. I bought a 3 bed semi in south Lincolnshire both on 27k at the time. I'm from a Leeds but couldn't afford to buy, there unless it was in a dive area.

[@craig3533]

"But why do I have to make any form of sacrifice!?!" The person who got gifted with an easy ride yell when asked to simply stop trying to sabotage others futures.

[@kanedNunable]

also note, boomers saw the largest increase in living standards 1 generation ever saw. their lives were 100x easier than their parents, yet they seem to want to make our lives worse.

[@MargaretDeakin-d6m]

I am an older person and have always said that the countryside should be shared with more people. It can be done tastefully and respectfully. These old selfish people are so self entitled. If only Governments could plan policies that suit everyone rather than just a relative few of their regular voters..I agree with you Lewis.

[@TheJaytee194]

The nimbys in my area bemoan every little business in town going bust whilst simultaneously opposing any new housing developments nearby.

[@hiphop99ful]

Well said mate to many pull up the ladder

[@dougclark9921]

too

[@TheReubstar]

The problem isn't so much land as property developers smacking huge prices on what they build wherever it is. No point building more homes if they are unaffordable.

[@youtubeyoutube936]

You havnt a clue about land price build costs etc.

[@TheReubstar]

@youtubeyoutube936 Government needs to step in is what I am saying. But over to you: are you saying developers don't want to maximise their profits?

[@leecourtney1225]

Precisely correct. Developers have to make profit, they are businesses after all. The elephant in the room is why are we not building not for profit true council housing with tax revenues, but sending billions to a genocidal regime in the middle east

[@johnrussell3961]

No point building more as higher supply lowers the profits.

[@TheReubstar]

@@johnrussell3961 Hence why I wrote above in a reply that the government needs to step in.

[@brianferguson7840]

Not just new houses ! "AFFORDABLE" houses. Truth is only 3% of land in the entire british isles is built on.

[@tombartram7384]

That's cuz of the inequality of overcrowding. Massive in English cities, while rural Scotland Wales and N Ireland population either reduced or unchanged.

[@jamin500]

ask them. When was your house built. What was the land use before they built them. Usually use a farm.

[@dougclark9921]

1250

[@leejohnson3209]

@@dougclark9921 just in time for lunch

[@johnrussell3961]

Useless farmland that regularly floods.

[@dougclark9921]

@@leejohnson3209 😆

[@dougclark9921]

@@johnrussell3961 If it floods then it prevents something else flooding, usually an existing street a bit further down hill/stream

[@ThatGuyThanus]

What most people call countryside, is actually farmland..

[@jezlawrence720]

I think you can build in rural areas sensitively and at quite a decent scale. We just *don't*, because housebuilding is about developers making profit not actually providing housing or nice well thought out places to live.

[@scottcook2643]

It's amazing that when pushed enough these people always circle back to "it's the immigrants" and "but I don't want that! What about ME!?"

[@monged4life442]

"They can go live somewhere else." "Who the old people?" Love that response

[@Andy-nl3zw]

I agree with the need for new housing however i live in a small village with with a planning application the proposed houses are 4 and 5 bed exec houses not the 2 3 bed houses needed. This has a 2 fold affect as it increases the price of smaller homes and also raises the average age of the village population which inturn reduces the pupils in the primary school putting this at risk. Its not that we are anti building just anti building the wrong type of house.

[@AG-kb7yb]

Who said we need 2 and 3 beds not 4 or 5???? What about people with more than 2 kids. How does more families decrease primary age pupils. If you are that concerned sell your house to a family with primary age children. Have a day off.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

​​@@AG-kb7yb studies have shown the importance especially in rural areas of smaller homes, a single Google search would have shown this, but you are too l azy. Someone with 2 kids can live in a 3 bed house why would they need 4 or 5, because twice a year relatives come round. Families cannot afford the 4 or 5 bedroom house therefore it reduces the number of children especially local children and young adult living in the area. Ah yes selling one house that will solve the problem, people like you fascinate me, we have a national problem and your juvinile solution is one person sell their house 🤦‍♂️

[@AG-kb7yb]

@@Alex-cw3rz You can find a study that shows the importance of homes of all sizes in every part of the country - there is a chronic shortage. But do not act like you read any studies. So who is buying the 4 and 5 bed houses, adults with no kids? 🙄 What about people with more than 2 kids? Never suggested it would solve the problem. You need an English teacher so that you can comprehend the words you are reading. Everything seems to fascinate you, probably because you are a fantasist. Edited your answer and still failed to respond to the questions posed. Go into politics, you will fit in well there. Take a week off.

[@Andy-nl3zw]

@@AG-kb7yb I have a 3 year old child. 2-3 bed houses are generally more affordable for young couple or families. 3 bed house is suitable for a family of 4. My experience of living for 35 years in rural areas are that younger people are being priced out of areas. If you read my point I'm for more houses just the right type eg more affordable smaller houses for first time buyers young families that bring vibrancy to small villages not big exec house being brought by middle-aged and retired people who have grown up children.

[@AG-kb7yb]

@@Andy-nl3zw I read what you wrote, you had no point. Studio flats are not affordable, let alone houses. What about people with more than 2 children?

[@edmurth]

Jonathan is a great example of the selflessness ingrained in our society, there is no consideration of wider society just what is in his own interests. When it was pointed out that the people coming here to work in social care needs homes Jonathan couldn’t care less if those people receiving care would be left stranded, he was happy to ignore the fate of millions of elderly people just as long as he got what he wanted. What a disgusting attitude.

[@supernoodles91]

If people like Jonathan don't want houses being built, don't have kids!

[@tajj7]

The nimbyism is a chronic problem, there are rural communities in my county Hampshire, little villages with nothing around them, where the average house price is like £800k, like 2/3 bedroom houses basically don't exist, they have huge open spaces around them, they schools where they have to combine classes across 1 or even 2 years because there are not enough kids to fill a year. But of course they are Tory constituencies so nothing is ever allowed to get built in them or around them. Meanwhile, the areas all along the M27 connecting Portsmouth and Southampton are just seeing more and more housing developments with no improvements to road schemes or more doctors and over subscribed schools. Too many people want to keep their little England exclusive and not let in the real world, they live in little bubbles in these sort of villages where everyone is comfortably off, owns their own home, everyone is white pretty much but then they wonder why the pubs, post offices, schools, doctors etc. are closing down or limiting services in these villages.

[@darrentaylordigital]

We need anti NIMBY laws! This is a joke!

[@XTRAIT-em4rx]

They don't like change around them. People like the caller probably complained when TV's went from Black and White to Colour..

[@HTOP1982]

"It's not a race to the bottom" Tell that to everyone that is hitting their 40's without a hope and a prayer to save for a deposit. The problem is simple: Not enough tall buildings. Not enough housing. Not enough green space. Build taller, more housing, and paradoxically more space for green spaces.

[@NinoBaggins]

I love Lewis when he’s bitey 😂😂😂😂

[@christinavuyk2026]

Stop selling off villages for holiday cottages and let the houses be lived in properly 🤔

[@julieknights1238]

Maybe we should start by banning second homes, and homes for investment rather than for homes. Open spaces and spaces for wildlife is important as well.

[@joex2004uk]

I haven’t heard this side to Lewis Goodall before. I like it!

[@proffessorclueless]

What a selfish country we all live in. What a shame.

[@trulymental7651]

I would turn all the empty shops and offices into housing first. Lots of single people need housing too. We do need woodland for birds and wildlife, not for dogwalkers who seem to think they are superior to other people for some reason.

[@stream_gene]

I lived in the Lake District for a few years, it is drastically different from the countryside in the South of England, it's a nature reserve, not a generic field.

[@Joe-ij6of]

Eventually younger people will outvote older people, and if you let a problem brew too long you won’t like what they vote for.

[@algernonsidney8746]

There are no shortage of empty commercial and empty residential properties across the country, especially in London owned by multi millionaires and billionaires. The government should use eminent domain to requisition these properties and turn them into public housing.

[@mauromatos3124]

The Jonathans never disappoint in their stupidity and selfishness.

[@EchoBeach501]

Building houses is not the answer to the problem. We need to build AFFORDABLE HOUSES. Where I live there are lots of houses being built, but the problem is when they go to market, you can guarantee that 90% of them will be snapped up by people who have no intention of living there - I am talking about property investors/landlords. Young people cannot afford houses because they are blown out of the water by millionaire property investors. Until that problem is addressed, you are merely exacerbating the problem.

[@xensonar9652]

There are hundreds of thousands of empty homes in UK.

[@dirtmcgirt168]

Generally that is only in areas with insufficient employment to handle that many people.

[@Cashback13]

The Dog Arguement was just laughable too, just don't have a dog? Orrrrrr just walk the dog in the park or around the houses like millions of other dog owners do every day?

[@susanb4816]

Sounds like an argument for reforestation rather than houses for miles. Build vertically

[@reecenightly4315]

I love it when people say " we are an island!", as if to say britain can not expand. No other country can either , that would be called an invasion. 🤦‍♂

[@nkonig1]

I live near Bishops Stortford in North East Hertfordshire. Every town is about 10 miles apart. There is so much rural land. As someone who came from South East London it is a nice change. However, I wouldn’t own my home if it wasn’t for new homes being built. My town has grown 10x over the last 10 years. There’s so much land up here that can be used to build.

[@LittleBanditMicra]

Exactly. My brother lives in Halstead. There are more fields than houses! 😂

[@Michael-s5b2z]

Home ownership is over.

[@w-james9277]

The majority of the green belt isn’t even countryside. It's just wasteland doing nothing. Not rolling hills and ancient woodland, just wasteland. We should of course protect our actual wild spaces but most of our wild spaces are not part of the green belt.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

3% of the UK has properties on it, doubling the housing supply i.e. housing for 140 million, when our population is unlikely to reaxh that in our life times leave us with 94% countryside and other amenities such as parks and gold courses.

[@Bjcf8060]

Gosh, you scratch the surface just a little bit and there it is...

[@ArdelR]

I would possibly have some sympathy for what he is saying had I not witnessed a large green area near me turned into thousands of houses with a STARTING price of £350000 for tiny little 2 bed properties - so explain to me how that gets young people on the property ladder.

[@vivienclogger]

Populations expand. They grow. Unless you want to cull the old or introduce a 'one child' policy or let people die of curable illnesses then the inevitable consequence of a modern world is that populations grow over time - so we need houses. The problem aren't the houses themselves, but that so often the infra strucure isn't provided to cope. Our town has grown by over 11% in 10 years, but there are no new GP surgeries, no new major roads to take the extra traffic and no more hospital beds. I suspect police numbers haven't grown to match the increase in population either. But people have a fundamental right to shelter, it's just a shame that it's done solely with a view to maximising profits.

[@bookinsights1092]

The UK doesn't want population growth from non-white countries.

[@CaptainoftheCs]

Car park Britain coming soon.

[@lcg8220]

Gammon bingo is far too easy of a game to play.

[@chrischarlescook]

I really hope when Jonathan needs end of life care, no one is there for him. Because that's what he wants and I'm all for people achieving their goals.

[@rymixxx]

Love to the family

[@AB-zl4nh]

96% of the UK is grass, farm & forest. The UK needs 300,000 housing units a year for a few years to meet demand. London alone has enough space for 1 million housing units by just building 2 or 3 stories on current housing. The UK has so much space that it's unreal, but people don't understand the facts. If we allowed London, Birmingham, and Manchester to become taller, the UK would meet its annual housing demand for decades.

[@AEgonCholakian]

Are you gonna tell that a LBC presenter doesn't own his own house?

[@andrewmcneil]

No fault evictions, families living in a B&B and this guy complains he will have nowhere to walk his dog!🤡

[@sarahnewton2550]

A particular un-nimble NIMBY caller there. I own my own home and am a parent - maybe I’m the last generation (X) who JUST managed to squeeze a deposit and grasp onto the last rung of the ladder. We need more housing - the immigrants are not going anywhere and we need the workforce. Not saying that immigration shouldn’t be tightened and it should; to those who can bring value to the country and not saying house building should be endless, but we need more housing stock.

[@NoShirtMan]

Lewis, you are a national treasure. I love how you are so happy to go toe-to-toe with people. There is such a closed minded view towards house building in certain sections of society and I don’t understand how people can’t understand that we need to build more housing in the UK so the future generations can afford to buy their home and not be forced to relocate to other areas nowhere near where their family and friends. I think this is something sadly overlooked and lots of people talk about the break down of familial ties…well the current situation accelerates this by forcing people to move to other areas because of affordability.

[@johnny141093]

No one's back garden is being built in because funnily enough you own that land... Always boils down to foreigners being the problem though doesn't it

[@ChsM-jk4oy]

Jonathan the boomers right to walk his dog in a feild trumps young people to own a home and bring up a family 😅😂

[@Alex-cw3rz]

Is he purposefully bring hyperbolic because his argument is so poor or is that guy so deluded that he thinks Ben is saying let's build 1 billion homes.

[@Riya-ho5zv]

always "like India" what about "like Japan". All things considered that island is doing alright

[@Jourifouler]

Imagine trying to argue with an entitled boomer that only 8.6% of land on the UK is built upon

[@johnrussell3961]

New Estates were built at the edge of villages. The townies who bought houses there now demand no more building. It will spoil their view. What about the view the original villagers had?

[@paulbird3235]

WE were in the EU before "Jonothan" voted BREXIT!. NOT in my backyard, I thought he was going to say build houses in the NORTH of the country.

[@robjo5954]

This is a hard balancing act. We need houses, we have neglected housing for too long. But we need to protect wild spaces and expand those wild spaces. I agree that farm fields are not wild spaces, and to that end farmers need to diversify by growing food crops for humans rather than crops for animals. Reduce meat usage, reduce the need for as many fields. Free up fields for part housing and part re-wilding. That could be a big part of the solution.

[@NailahRoberts]

Green spaces are important, I think new homes should be built on the many many derelict industrial sites we have in this country.

[@Tr1ckady]

Well said Lewis 👏

[@TheMrReee]

We need social housing, not more unaffordable private housing.

[@Zemplex]

Food production is very important . Brownfield sites i.e. land that has been built on before should be prioritised before farm land . Using farmland will result in higher food prices and possibly food insecurity/shortages.

[@paulbird3235]

Big builders ONLY want green belt land!.

[@charlesthomson8434]

I find it amazing the amount of people that phone up that think there indignation, rage and racism will win them respect and adoration from the presenter.

[@JohanNordin-bq4tz]

Better off owning a house than having food to eat. Stick to city politics. What looks like an empty field is actually part of food production. Rich londoners having second homes in the countryside is what's "holding it back".

[@Human_Herbivore]

In the UK most open fields are there because land was cleared to farm animals. We did exactly what they are doing in the Amazon now.

[@Gph0367]

Well said Lewis

[@salford6]

Loads of new housing built near me, all totally unaffordable for the average Brit, don’t understand how destroying countryside and wildlife habitats equates to affordable housing tbh or is this just another chance to have a pop at old people?

[@ThatGuyThanus]

He’s alright, Jack!

[@sionyn]

It’s not about a few rabbits; it’s far more than that. Better to build houses on land that’s already been developed. You don’t have to drive for long to see dilapidated commercial and industrial land.

[@jacklanham7311]

Same problem in the USA

[@robcalvert8830]

No-one has the right to own their own home. Wow.

[@firebyrd437]

They don't, it's not written in law. I've never bought a house and I'm very happy

[@riccardo-964]

Joseph owns his own home.

[@jolist3722]

. Get more people out of the city. So it can generate wealth in small country towns by building eco-friendly houses, with solar panels. Everybody wins the country town wins and the environment wins.

[@paulbird3235]

Jonothan would be the first to moan if HIS kids had nowhere to live, and had to stop with him until they were fourty! 😆😆😆.................

[@emanuel1940]

Theres tonnes of land to build on, people dont need gardens the size of a football field. Even then if we run out of space, theres room to build upwards. Im sure people will care more about having a roof over their families head rather than having massive gardens.

[@michaelpyatt831]

They need to firstly renovated / reclaim the houses left to rack and ruin in places that are absolutely run down, knock them down if need be and then begin to spread outwards, also a lot of build able land is held in so called land banks by huge businesses like tescos and Sainsbury’s under the guise of building new stores when in reality they are holding on waiting for the rise in value of the land

[@AEgonCholakian]

Did he call Amazon and told them to pay their fare share of taxes? Nah that would be actual journalism.

[@RedRemRob]

How is that relevant to this discussion?

[@AEgonCholakian]

@@RedRemRob multi billion corporations dodging taxes are more to blame than someones grandparent that didn't cheat to get a house.

[@alanharper23]

​@@AEgonCholakian So... not relevant at all to the discussion of developing land to build affordable houses. Nobody suggested that the caller cheated to get his house. His argument is that people like to walk their dogs on fields therefore they shouldn't be developed on to create new homes during a housing crisis. He's alright, so why should the next generation benefit like he did? What an easy and selfish perspective from a homeowner in a far more comfortable position than young people are in today.

[@AEgonCholakian]

@@alanharper23 theres no free land in UK to build on. It's not "oh look a empty field let's build houses". If big coorp was paying they fair amount of taxes regular people wouldn't be taxed as much, and that money could go towards what's really lacking, Infrastructure.

[@alanharper23]

​@@AEgonCholakian Less than 10% of UK land is developed on. Land is being bought for new buildings and developments all the time, so yes there is plenty of room. There's no need to conflate the taxation of large corporations with the housing crisis. Whether large businesses pay their taxes or not, more affordable homes need to be built, and the argument that a nice field to walk a dog is justification for prohibiting affordable houses for the next generation is still as selfish a stance as it was before. Introducing the taxation of large corporations (an issue which the caller didn't mention once) doesn't make that stance any less selfish. If only wages had risen with the rate of inflation and the cost of homes, we might all be able to benefit as much as those who bought their houses decades ago. But as long as current homeowners have their homes, that's all that matters I suppose.

[@MD-it5od]

We teach nature in schools 😮

[@n0tk0sher]

I really wish people would use a synonym for that word.

[@mitsterful]

Need a mixture of building more housing and rewilding the countryside and cities/towns.

[@globalist1990]

What absolute drivel. There's loads of empty houses and urbanised areas that can take quite a few more new builds. Why convert wild areas or farmland to houses? It's absolutely ludicrous. That's not the way. This guy: there's a speculative property market: destroy nature and farmland for a bargain priced house! Brilliant liberal stuff!

[@SimplySketchyGT]

Rent controls

[@deadlyfremen7447]

Maybe we can use some of the land taken up by golf courses

[@homeandfamilyservices2650]

Lazy debate Mr G.