Theresa May called on them to do their duty to tackle the housing crisis as she unveiled plans to pump an extra £2bn into the affordable housing pot to build 25,000 council houses.

“I want to send the clearest possible message to our house builders. We, the government, will make sure the land is available.

“We’ll make sure our young people have the skills you need. In return, you must do your duty to Britain and build the homes our country needs.”

The Prime Minister said the Government would pave the way for a ” new generation of council houses to help fix our broken housing market”.

The extra £2bn will take the affordable housing pot to £9bn, chanelling more cash to building contractors.

Under the new plan councils will now be able to compete with housing associations for extra cash in areas of acute affordability pressure, and where working families are struggling with the costs of rent and some are at risk of homelessness.

While the total new homes will depend on how the cash is divided between councils and associations, the Government believes councils using a typical £80,000 subsidy per home could supply around 25,000 more homes at rents affordable for local people.

May said:  “Getting government back into the business of building houses.

“It won’t be quick or easy, but as Prime Minister I am going to make it my mission to solve this problem. I will take personal charge of the government’s response, and make the British Dream a reality by reigniting home ownership in Britain once again. ”