It's a matter of perspective. On the one hand you're right that it's sheer demand that is a big part of the problem in London. On the other hand it is obvious t

It's a matter of perspective. On the one hand you're right that it's sheer demand that is a big part of the problem in London. On the other hand it is obvious that everywhere in the UK has serious restriction of supply, because house building has been less than half of what's necessary for many decades, house prices are spiralling, and median house price to income ratios are double now what they were 15 years ago (again, that applies to all parts of the country, even unfashionable places far away from the capital [1]). Obviously there's the issue with green belts, but even beyond that there's massive potential for increasing the housing density of outer London. Both because of its current low density, and because a lot of the existing housing stock is made up of grey suburban estates which would be more or less unmourned if redeveloped. Look up 'densification' for more information. Also, of course, it is important to try to reduce demand by making the Northern cities an alternative centre of gravity (HS2, HS3, new local powers for unified city mayors in Manchester and Birmingham, and so on). [1] - https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/321015/Chart_576.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm...