Most household growth comes from immigration, not from the domestic population

By Professor David Coleman
Published Letter to the Editor of The Times, 25 November, 2017 

Sir,

The chancellor’s modest housing measures deserve modest support, but most of this discussion misses the point.

Of course supply must be increased, not the least to deal with the backlog.

The underlying problem, though, is uncontrolled demand.

Most household growth comes from immigration, not from the domestic population: in recent years more than four fifths of additional households in the UK have been headed by a person born overseas.

Forget the absurdly defective household projections by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

For as long as net migration continues at about a quarter of a million per year, Britain will be trapped in a treadmill of housebuilding without limit.

David Coleman
Emeritus professor of demography, University of Oxford