The Closest Thing to a Silver Bullet: Why Embracing the Power of Home is an Inherently Whole Nation Conservative Solution

Co-founder of Whole Nation Conservatives Igraine Gray is a Conservative activist and former council candidate, writer, published author and rehabilitated rough sleeper. Prior to the 2024 General Election she was Policy Assistant to Sir Simon Clarke.

“Housing is the first of the social services. It is also one of the keys to increased productivity. Work, family life, health and education are all undermined by crowded houses. Therefore, a Conservative and Unionist Government will give housing a priority second only to national defence.” - Conservative Party Manifesto 1951

The home holds the moral and economic power of the nation. Conservatives have understood that, to varying degrees and effectiveness, for most of their existence. Yet as we look back at our historic election defeat, from within the eye of the housing shortage storm, that fact seems entirely lost.

Home is a very big idea, but there is one thing it needs unconditionally to thrive: housing. Compared to the average European country, Britain has a backlog of 4.3 million homes that are missing from the national housing market (Centre for Cities, 2023). So if we are to make the case for conservatism across the whole country, stand for home ownership, and harness the power of home, then house building must increase.

Why should we?

Because it is a moral and economic imperative.

The Moral Case

This, hopefully, should be rather obvious. That a loving home is the basis for the success of all in our country would, I think, be denied by very few. A home supports a family, and for many they would define their home as their family. Children who grow up in families who have not succumbed to our family breakdown epidemic are more likely to have better outcomes throughout their lives than those who have, unfortunately, come from broken homes. Some may say that 'epidemic' in this context is hyperbole, but in 2022, half of all children in the UK came from separated households (Office of National Statistics, 2022). A supportive environment means a greater potential for education, and skills, as well as a sense of belonging, community and aspiration. House building helps to keep the network together, without it we are destined to split up the most successful institutions in our history: family and community.

At the extreme, homelessness is a scourge that not only robs people of safe housing but of that education, those skills and community roots. These are the hardest to restore and cause long-lasting damage, damage that remains long after the person is housed. For the house is the shell that gains a bigger meaning when we live within it.

I understand this, I would fervently argue, better than most. As a child raised in not only a broken home, but a dysfunctional one, and as an adult who as a long-term rough sleeper could see that destruction in real time. I have little to no roots left in the community I once called home, I had to re-learn basic skills such as social interaction and understanding of my body, and have had to sacrifice much to re-educate myself and reintegrate back into society. After accepting help some nine years after first sleeping on the streets, I was housed pretty quickly - but I have only really transformed into a stable, active member of the community I now call home over the last couple of years. That’s fifteen years of lost time, and there’s still further to go.

No member of this country should be without their own space to set up home, or the basics we need to succeed will slowly ebb away. Conservatives, above all else, stand for family, community and nation. We cannot do this without housebuilding.

The Economic Case

House building is known to be a significant direct generator of economic growth. In 2023, house building in England and Wales (at a rate still below where it needs to be) generated £53.3 billion in economic output and supported 834,000 jobs (Home Builders Federation, 2024). To maintain effective public services we are going to need economic growth and this is not the worst start. If we then add in infrastructure building, indirect associated business growth and job creation, it is clear the basic macroeconomic case for building is strong.

Furthermore, there are economic gains to be made from the moral impact the home has. House building that prioritises growing communities and keeping established socially cohesive networks together, will see less state spending on aspects of social care, unemployment, family breakdown and homelessness. Succinctly, preventative spending is usually smaller and more effective that curative spending.

Ultimately, when it comes to the challenges this country faces, there are no silver bullets. We have a sluggish state, an even more sluggish economy, significant social fabric decay and no guarantee that the next generation will have it better than the last.

Investing in the power of home is the nearest thing we have to a silver bullet. It’s about time we gave it the space it is due.

References

• Centre for Cities (2023) The housebuilding crisis: The UK’s 4 million missing homes, February 2023

• Office for National Statisitcs (2023) Families and households in the UK: 2022, May 2023

• Home Builders Federation (2024) The Economic Footprint of Home Building in England and Wales 2023, September 2024