There are ways that housing could be made available swiftly and with comparatively small expenditure.

If the government took over all the houses which are kept long term unoccupied by the owners, refurbished them to a reasonable standard and Hey Presto, instant social housing for thousands of families, but they would be faced with a horde of screaming left wing protesters banging on about high handed government infringing peoples human rights.

You say build on brownfield sites as a matter of urgency.

Well we have that 250,000 families who already have children in over crowded properties.

What's your best solution for them. Shoot a couple of kids? I don't think that is allowed.

Then there's a million on the waiting list for accommodation.

"Well", says you "The Tories should get moving and magic up a million and a quarter houses,...FAST"

Where were you when Blair and Brown, with all the money they had to throw around (of course what they actually did was throw it away), signally failed to do even a small part of what you now expect the current government to do with very little money?

Don T.