Political Barriers to Housebuilding in Britain: A Critical Case Study of Protectionism and its Industrial-Commercial Effects

Over the years, political barriers have severely hampered housebuilding in Britain. Governments have blocked urban expansion, stymied new low-cost housing production methods and materials, and restricted the supply of new housing to the market in other ways. They have thereby artificially raised prices and excluded many lower income households from owner-occupation. This study analyses political barriers to housebuilding as a special form of political-economic protectionism – the equivalent of quotas and tariffs on international goods imports. The book will be of interest to anyone concerned about shortages in the supply and the high costs of good new homes – not just in Britain but in other industrial countries also.