Thanks to Derek Scott for alerting us to this.
Lewis is, of course, correct in outlining an emerging housing crisis across the UK but way out on the last near 20 years.
In February 2026, aspiring Labour PM, Andy Burnham had this ambition for the UK:
Significantly, it is social rent, rather than affordable homes, that Burnham appears keen on building. In February of this year, speaking at the Resolution Foundation conference, he said he would like to see the government commit to building 500,000 such homes by the end of the decade (2030). https://www.bdonline.co.uk/briefing/what-would-prime-minister-burnham-look-like-for-housing-and-construction/5142820.article
Blissfully unaware, the Daily Mail in April 2025 had :
The Daily Mail did not, of course, have the facts. Here they are:
For 2025, the SNP Government has funded 5 313 new affordable home starts to a level down from a peak of 11 158 in 2021 but above the level before 2014 and still almost twice that of the last Labour government in Scotland, only 3 100.
AND:
According to the latest official statistics from the Scottish Government, as reported in the Quarterly Housing Statistics update to June 2025, Scotland has delivered a total of 140,346 affordable homes since 2007. This includes 100,064 homes for social rent, with the rest for other affordable rent and ownership options. These figures reflect government-supported completions through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and other initiatives, marking progress toward the current target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 (of which 29,680 have been completed so far). The data shows Scotland leading the UK in affordable housing delivery per head of population since 2007, with over 40% more than England and 70% more than Wales.
See that 140 346 above?
The Herald had this:
So, clearly unaware that with 140 346 built, the SNP target was exceeded already?
Sources:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/quarterly-housing-statistics-september-2025/documents/
Scottish Government Housing Statistics (New Housebuilding and AHSP Tables, historical series from 2000–2025)
https://www.gov.scot/collections/housing-statistics/
Back to Andy’s 500 000 target for 2030, that’d be around 50 000 for Scotland but we already have built 140 000, nearly three times as many.
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Talking-up Scotland 
Ten years is it not since Right to Buy in Scotland was stopped?
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Yes. The Right to Buy scheme officially ended in Scotland on July 31, 2016, ten years ago last month.
Abolished under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014, stopped council and housing association tenants from buying their rented homes, protected public housing stock and reduced growing social housing shortages.
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Andy B intent on buildimg 500,000 in four years? 125,000? a year.
Scottish Gov renovated or builds 6,000 houses. Builders build 17,000. 23,000 in Scotland. 23,000 x 10. 230,000. (Average). Based on population. Scotland builds far more affordable houses.
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