Whilst the chattering classes who would never vote Tory criticise Rishi for belatedly tilting his campaign to the right as he realises he has to win over Tory members rather than swing voters, Guido is less worried about his unlikely plan to refer flag-hating extremists to the Prevent programme for vilifying Britain, than about his blanket rejection of building homes where people want to live. The NIMBYism that robs the next generation of ever owning a home of their own.

The LibDems are using the issue to scaremonger voters in the South East where they are challenging Tory incumbents. It seems to work for them, and Rishi has cowardly aligned himself with that protectionist Green Belt NIMBYism as he panders for votes. This poll from YouGov says he may have misjudged Tory members, who by 51% to 21% preferred Liz’s more permissive housing policy in principle. Do they still do so when a development is proposed in their own area? Guido senses that it is dependent on the scale and quality of the proposed developments. If their children and grandchildren are to own their own homes, Tories know in their hearts that they are going to have to allow developments. This poll suggests there is some hope.