The furore over the London borough of Newham's request to a Stoke-on-Trent housing association to house some of its homeless families is just the tip of the iceberg. London's housing problem is of Victorian dimensions and yet scarcely figures on any political agendas and although housing is not the Mayor's responsibility has not featured in the Boris v Ken election campaign.

Just look at the facts. London's population is expanding, driven in part by people moving to it from other parts of the country or more often from other parts of the world in search of jobs and there is not enough housing to satisfy it. In many cases wages do not cover the high price of accommodation.  On top of this because of sterling's weakness global millionaires are snapping up properties in central London thereby driving up prices and having a knock-on effect on rentals. London's private rental market is already a landlords' market.