Barnet Council’s cabinet member for housing says the former prime minister would be shocked at the cost of his former Hampstead Garden Suburb home

Former British prime minister Harold Wilson smoking a pipe — Harold Wilson – (Credit – Allan Warren, CC BY-SA 3.0 – via Wikimedia Commons)

A Barnet Council cabinet member says former Labour prime minister Harold Wilson would be “shocked” to discover that his former home in Hampstead Garden Suburb has gone on the market for £2million.

Wilson lived in the house on Southway with his family between 1956 and 1964, the period during which he became leader of the opposition before leading Labour to victory at the general election in 1964.

Responding to the news of the planned sale, Ross Houston, the Barnet Labour administrations cabinet member for housing and regeneration highlighted the wider impact of rising house prices.

He said: “Harold Wilson lived in a semi-detached house in Barnet when he was leader of the opposition. He would be shocked at the £2million price tag. Such prices have a knock on affect on the cost of all housing.

“Wilson’s government’s built more than a million council homes, and I am sure he would back the council’s current plan to secure 1,000 new council homes by 2026.”

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