Speaking to the Conservative conference, David Cameron declared the Conservatives were the “party of home ownership” and pledged not to let nimbys stand in the way of delivering needed new homes.

“There are those who say ‘yes of course we need more housing,’ but ‘no’ to every development and not in my back yard.

“House building isn’t just a vital engine of the economy – it goes much wider and bigger than that. But you know the average age that someone buys their first home today, without any help from their parents? 33 years old.

“We are the party of home ownership and we cannot let this carry on.”

He said that the government was doubling the discount for buying your council house and helping first time buyers with 95% mortgages.

He added more than this: “We must accept that we need to build a lot more houses in Britain.”

He said that too many hard working young people were still living at home. “They sit in their childhood bedroom, looking out of the window, dreaming of a place of their own.

“I want us to say to them – you are our people, we are on your side, and we will help you reach your dreams.”

His speech underlined the new cross-party consensus for a major house building drive to alleviate the deepening housing crisis and stimulate the economy.

Labour said it would build an extra 100,000 homes using receipts from the sale of 4G telephone licences, while The Liberal Democrats called for an extra 300,000 homes to be build, although the conference fell short on outlining his this would be achieved.