Government forced to release data to back up Dominic Raab immigration house price claim
1 min read
The Government has published the data behind the Housing Minister’s claim migration has pushed the cost of a house in the UK up by 20% over 25 years.
Dominic Raab made the claim in a wide-ranging interview in the Sunday Times last week, and pointed to statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) to support the accusation.
"Based on the ONS data, the advice to me from the department is that in the last 25 years we have seen immigration put house prices up by something like 20%," he said.
However, the data released by the Government showed the model used by Mr Raab covered the period 1991-2016 in which immigration contributed to a 21% increase.
The figures were based on detailed reports published in 2007 and 2008 by the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit.
The Labour party accused Mr Raab of blaming spiralling house prices on immigration instead of dwindling stock.
John Healey, Labour's Shadow Housing Secretary, said immigration was "not the major driver of rising housing prices".
He added: "Rather than try to blame others for unaffordable housing costs, Dominic Raab should look at the decisions Conservative ministers have made since 2010.
"Deep cuts to housing investment have halved the number of new low-cost homes for first-time buyers and driven the number of new social rented homes being built to a record low."
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