UK housing - how to let the bubble down...

Yesterday just demonstrates why many people seldom vote. In the blue corner it's all about government under-writing high LTV mortgages - one of the things that got us all into this mess. Writing for the red corner, Jack Dromney bigs up more social affordable housing, groaning "It would be absolutely wrong to see the combination of falling council stock and rising rents.

Look at the stark facts:

1) The UK runs a massive trade deficit
2) The people we run it with want a safe return on their money.
3) Loads of young people want cheaper rent or a bigger place to live.
4) A few hundred thousand tradesman want more work.
5) Parliament can grant more residential planning permission.

Can anyone see the solution here? I would have thought it would have made sense to allow folk like the People's Bank of China, the Qatari Investment Authority etc to recycle their surpluses into building houses for rent, wherever the demand is, on the private market? We could even ask investors to bid for the planning permits and make a few quid there no?

That might take pressure of rents, whilst getting a few people back to work and stimulating the economy, you know, fixing the budget deficit? Making inroads on the trade deficit and the budget deficit, creating jobs and improving our housing stock into the bargain? What's not to like?

Just how much longer of the house price bubble sucking us all into a giant economic vortex are we going to have to put up with before people realise the real cause of our stagnant economy? It's not the euro wrecking the UK economy it's the house price bubble. Welcome to the 0% growth, decade or more long 'soft landing' they promised you in 2008.