Weekend news round-up 12 May

House prices have almost trebled during the Blair decade, according to the FT house price index. The paper also predicts another interest rate rise this year.

The Independent reports that more than one in seven people will now struggle to pay their mortgage following last week’s hike in interest rates.

According to The Times, the rise in rates will to accentuate the divide between house prices outside the capital and those in the plusher parts of London.

Has the buy-to-let market reached saturation point, asks the Telegraph?

Gordon Brown receives a vocal welcome in Brighton from the internet-based pressure group Priced Out. The campaigners plan to picket the chancellor when he speaks at Brighton’s Dome to highlight the problem of escalating house prices.

’What about the immense tolerance shown by British families in overcrowded homes who see new social housing given to asylum seekers?’ rails the Express in yet another comment on Blair’s legacy.