Much is being said and written about the lack of affordable housing in the UK. Since the trough in the first quarter of 2009 following the financial crisis, the average UK house price has risen by 40%. To buy a home in London, young first time buyers need to save for enormous deposits and borrow eye-watering multiples of their salaries. So homes are unaffordable to most first time buyers, right? Wrong.

I left university and started work at around the time of the first Thatcher election victory in 1979. So how has property affordability changed over that 38 year period? See if you can remember that far back and have a stab at these:

• 1979 election date?
• Average UK income?
• Average UK house price?
• Interest rate?

Answers: May 3rd, £6,281, £19,075, 13%

So, if in May 1979 a first time buyer on average earnings bought an average priced house, borrowing 70% at bank rate? 27.6% of his or her gross salary would have been required just to service the interest, before any capital repayments. Now let’s look at 2017:

• 2017 election date?
• Average income?
• Average house price?
• Interest rate?

Answers: June 8th, £26,312, £209,971, 0.25%