Is there a way to raise taxes without spooking the voters?

It would be unfair to compare the UK Government to the serial killer in the Saw movies, but handing income-tax powers to the Scottish Parliament was a stroke of evil genius.

There’s not much point raising wages if rents keep rising too

The government cannot sit on its hands and blame market forces for the plight of those citizens who will never get on the property ladder (and quite possibly don’t want to either). It doesn’t take an economics degree to see this is a problem of supply and demand to which building is the solution.