We’ve also agreed an ambitious target of 300,000 new homes each year for overall housing supply as party policy.  But even with some councils starting to build again, there is a long way to go before anywhere near enough homes are built each year in Britain to meet need.

The Local Authority Housing Review, set in train by the Autumn Statement, will look at how councils can do more to increase supply, how self-financing for councils has worked in practice, and will examine how councils could access finance in innovative ways to get more homes built.  I am excited to have been asked by Danny Alexander and Eric Pickles to co-lead this independent Review with Natalie Elphicke, founder of Million Homes, Million Lives.

Later this spring the Review will launch a call for evidence. This is the opportunity for everyone who is passionate about tackling our housing crisis to put forward practical ideas and solutions.  For Liberal Democrats this is a chance to make the case for change alongside our own manifesto for 2015.

* Cllr Keith House has been Leader of Eastleigh Borough Council since 1994.