Pressure from health reformers and charitable employers on the one hand - and the labour movement and tenants campaigns on the other - built growing support for the idea of state-subsidised social housing.

The shortage of homes after the First World War forced the Government to subsidise the first council house building programme.

While the Labour Party supported general needs housing for all - the Conservatives only wanted to fill the gap created by the shortage of the war and hoped that the free market would soon pick up. Between the wars there were on-off bursts of council house building.

The depression of the 1920s and 1930s led to a return to social housing as a "sanitary" policy and subsidies were only given to house people from slum clearance areas. Social housing became a welfare safety net again - until housing shortages after the Second World War - and tenant direct action - led to another building boom.

1915 Rent and Mortgage Restrictions Act: Set limits on private sector rents as a result of rent strikes

1919 Addison Act: Brings in government subsidies for council house building

1923 Chamberlain Act: No more subsidies for council house building just for private builders or building for sale

1923 Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest: Ends rent controls on new private sector tenancies

1924 Wheatley Act: New Labour government gives higher subsidy for council house building with contribution from the rates

1930 Greenwood Act: Links council house building to slum clearance, with subsidies according to people rehoused, differential rents and new rent rebates

1933 Housing Act: Ended subsidies for general needs housing - council housing is just for slum clearance

After the war there was cross party consensus on the need for house building. There was a Council house building boom from 1945 - 1953 supplying general needs housing. Subsidies were increased under Labour plus the design specification was very high with comfortable room sizes, as a result of the Dudley Committee report.

From the mid-1950s council house building became linked to a major slum clearance programme across the country. The Parker Morris report in 1961 set minimum space and heating requirements for council housing. But targets for increasing the numbers of council homes lead to the use of system-build techniques and brought in a squeeze on quality. Housing subsidies were targeted to building flats and high - rise from 1956-1967.

Suggested further reading:

Peter Malpass & Alan Murie, "Housing policy and practice"
John Burnett, "A social history of housing 1815-1985"