David Willetts, a Conservative peer and former universities minister, has urged Rishi Sunak, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, to consider a postwar-style programme of new town construction in England to tackle the collapse in home ownership among young adults

Willetts argued that failure to increase the supply of affordable homes was among reasons for rising levels of inequality between young and old.

He suggested that the government could learn from the boom in state-backed housebuilding during the 1950s and 60s, when developments sprung up across the UK.

The New Towns Act of 1946 gave the government power to designate land for new settlements, and the construction boom that followed paved the way for a number of new towns, including Stevenage in Hertfordshire.

However, the party also faces a balancing act to retain support from its older base, amid concern among older voters over the relaxation of planning laws for the construction of new homes.