AFTER 40 years of neglect the housing stock is full. It has been for almost all of these years.

This means, young people can aspire to own their own homes, or even to rent their own home, but for many this will never be possible.

Where do they live now?

They live at home with their parents. I only found this out recently because I am organising a reunion for former members of the RAF. Of the five I have visited, three have their offspring still at home.

We are not young any longer and nor are their offspring. They are at least 35. All share the fact they have no children.

When a politician speaks of security, you need to realise what security actually means to the majority. It means having their own home.

Education of the people cannot be achieved without housing our people in decent homes. Their health certainly suffers and the cost of not building the homes we have required spirals out of control.

This is not saving money. It is wasting a generation, or two.

Housing has been described as a human right. But it is more than that. It is what makes us human.

To want people to languish on the streets or to remain tied to their pensioner parents is not humane.

But it has been the policy of the main parties up until 2015. The time for this to change has long passed.

We need to see housing as the greatest threat to our country we could resolve to change.

That no-one has before 2015 must surely be cause for concern.

Roderick Oates Tabley