SPARE a thought, today, for the generation - now in their mid to late-20s - who seem to have borne the brunt of every political, social and educational revolution going since Mrs Thatcher came to power.

This time, they're first-time buyers struggling to jump aboard the property ladder.

The fact that demand for properties at the bottom end of the market is growing suggests it's "buy to let" investors who are pushing prices beyond the grasp of first-time buyers.

And it's difficult to see that situation changing, unless the Government takes swift and thoughtful action.

The evidence is compelling. At the start of the month, the Nationwide said a 0.25 per cent interest rate rise would mean buyers spending 29 per cent of a wage on mortgage payments. It duly happened.

And the housing charity Shelter says that, if prices and interest rates rise again, first-time buyers will find it 46 per cent more difficult to buy a home than they did 10 years ago.

The grim outlook doesn't improve the more you dwell on the subject.

If prices rise by 10 per cent a year, salaries - through pay rises or promotion - must match that leap for a first home to remain within reach of the younger generation.

That won't happen in most cases. What's more, for the "have-nots", renting is a more expensive alternative that only makes money for the buy-to-rent "haves".

Add to that the spectre of student loans - whose repayment is triggered at a certain salary level - and you have a generation that's being priced out of what most regard as our cultural right, owning our own little piece of England.