The major problem confronting Londoners is the enormous rise in the price of domestic property in the capital.

Participants in the General Election campaign will have their pet solutions to this dilemma. These will include the ‘mansion tax’, a variety of savings, tax reliefs and aids to help with a deposit. In addition, there will be a struggle with developers regarding the provision of ‘affordable’ homes for local residents.

None of these policies will solve the problem. Why? Well, figures from Oxfam show that the richest 85 people across the globe share a combined wealth of £1trillion, equivalent to the wealth of the worlds’ 3.5 billion poorest. And, a convenient place for the very wealthy to deposit cash is in the London property market – a safe and anonymous haven providing capital growth. If house prices depended on the incomes of indigenous workers, then they would be very much lower than at present.

In Switzerland the Lex Koller law, governing international buyers of Swiss property, requires them to obtain a permit from the appropriate canton. In addition, the number of secondary residences, for both Swiss and non-Swiss buyers throughout Switzerland is limited. The intention is that no village will have more than 20 per cent of its properties registered as secondary residences. Also, non-Swiss buyers will be limited to 200 square metres for an individual property.

In addition, only EU or EFTA nationals with a Swiss residence permit, who reside in Switzerland or who hold a Swiss C Permit, will have access to the local market.

The solution to house price inflation in London and the UK is to have similar restrictions on the purchase of properties here. This is the only solution that will bring prices under control. However, no political party is contemplating this. Why? Because they all rely on rich financiers for cash to fight the election, and they want to retain the ‘free market’.

As a principle, domestic property should not be used as a commodity for investment. Until political parties recognise this fact, distortions in the property market and the poverty and homelessness, which accompany the current speculative processes, will continue.

The fact that no one is tackling this problem is an abject failure and a disgraceful reflection on the political and economic establishment of this country. Sarah Sackman, please note.

Derek Coggrave

Wentworth Park, Finchley