The house that Jerry built? Building societies, the state and the politics of owner‐occupation

Abstract

The rapid growth of the building societies between the wars saw them establish a position of dominance in the housing finance market. This paper draws out some of the political implications of this well known phenomenon. The building societies’ new importance in the context of the private enterprise housing policies of the National Government after 1932 led to the establishment of a close though not necessarily harmonious relationship with the state. An accurate index of how the relationship developed is provided by the making of the 1939 Building Societies Act through which the position of the societies was consolidated after being threatened by a protracted legal dispute and series of mortgage strikes in South East England. The forging of close links between the state and the building societies cannot be explained purely in terms of inter‐war developments. It comprises a moment in the longer term evolution of the politics of property which therefore provide an important standpoint from which the history of the building societies can be written.

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