Labour MP Tessa Jowell commissions shocking report

It would take an average person almost 20 years to save up and buy their first home in Islington, a new report claims.

The study, commissioned by Labour MP Tessa Jowell, is based on someone earning £35,000 a year saving and seven per cent of their income.

At that rate, it would take them 18.9 years to save £46,186, 10 per cent of the borough’s average house price of £461,860.

Ms Jowell said: “This is the hard truth about how London’s housing crisis denies the dream of owning your own home to young people in Islington.

“We need to build one London not two where everyone has the chance to live in a decent home and first time buyers aren’t excluded from the housing market unless they have access to the bank of mum and dad.

“First things first - the next mayor has to build many more homes, plain and simple, but we also have to develop a serious plan to help thousands more Londoners get on the housing ladder.

“A more equal London has to mean that it’s possible to buy your own home. We have to solve London’s housing crisis if we want our city to succeed, with a Labour government and mayor working together.”