If the Tories want to win elections, they can no longer afford to ignore renters

Editorial: There will be electoral consequences for ignoring the desperation of millions who don’t own their homes

In the public discussion, the problems in the rental sector are typically articulated through the struggles of landlords, not their tenants (PA)

Fifteen years of soaring house prices has increasingly turned Britain into a nation of renters. Yet renters remain little more than an afterthought for politicians.

The most recent English Housing Survey revealed that significantly more households now rent their home – 36 per cent, compared with 30 per cent who own their homes with a mortgage (35 per cent are owned by their occupiers outright.)

That rising central bank interest rates have created a timebomb for mortgage holders is treated as a national crisis, while the misery of renters is all but ignored.