Hands off our homes, don’t punish the prudent for their hard work

Admittedly, there is a certain justice in people paying their own way, rather than expecting the younger generation of taxpayers to do so. What sticks in my craw is that the government will effectively use our modest savings, and the savings of millions of other prudent homeowners, to defray the cost of care for those who never saved a bean.

Bean is an appropriate metaphor here. We afforded our mortgage payments by supping on baked beans instead of restaurant meals, not once in a while but year in, year out. Long ago, for a few heroic weeks, we even slept on a thick mat of newspapers before we could afford a new bed. Bear in mind that we did so at a time when it was fashionable to drop out – funded by generous social security – and pursue one’s dream, whether that be writing an opera, or selling homemade jam from a market stall. Like the ant in La Fontaine’s fable, which refused to share her hoard of food with the improvident cricket, I feel no obligation to subsidise those who squandered the summer of their lives in blissful song.

Has the government thought about the knock-on effect of its proposal on the condition of the nation’s housing stock? Over the last few years we improved our house, and contributed to the local economy, by having a shower installed, several rooms redecorated and a paved patio constructed in a sunny corner of the garden. The fact that the work increased the value of the property was a secondary consideration. Our house is our home, and modest improvements enhanced our lives.

However, if any increase in value went straight to the state, we might well hesitate before investing several thousand pounds on necessary repairs, especially since we are fast approaching the age of muttering, “That’ll see us out.” Think about it. If your spouse went into care, and the state slapped a confiscation order on your house, would you use £5,000 of your savings to install double glazing, or blow the lot visiting your sister in Canada one last time? Personally, I’d fly to Canada, and wrap myself in shawls on my return

Has the government thought about the effect on waiting lists for social housing? Many youngsters in their twenties, burdened with student loan repayments, income tax and national insurance, already live in cramped bedsits and shared flats, and have to postpone any hope of buying a home of their own until their thirties or even forties. What will happen if an entire generation misses out on inheriting their parents’ property? You can’t raise a family in a bedsit, so the demand for social housing will rocket.

Think again, policy-makers. Hands off our homes.