The National Housing Federation’s annual conference is a major event in the social housing calendar. I’ve been attending since the early 1990s and you can usually expect a rousing speech from the visiting politician and a host of insights into how the UK’s housing associations are coping with the various challenges they face.

This year was remarkably different. For the first time in the conference’s history, the Prime Minister gave the ministerial address – at a time when her Brexit plan and negotiations are never far from the latest news headlines, no less. Not only did her presence emphasise the role that housing associations have to play in solving the UK’s housing crisis; she acknowledged the unique position that housing associations occupy – having often been borne out of local need.

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