YOUNG people on low wages struggling to get a foothold on the housing ladder in York have known for years that it isn’t easy. York as a city may be comparatively wealthy for the north of England. And unemployment here is much lower than in much of Yorkshire.

But house prices are cripplingly high. And according to Labour, the gap between earnings and house prices in York is increasing.

Janet Looker, the leader of the Labour group on City of York Council, says average earnings in the city are going up - but they’re going up more slowly than housing costs, whether mortgage or rent.

The result? For many young families yet to be able to buy their own property, the dream of one day being able to do so is receding ever further. And even for those renting, life is steadily but gradually getting harder as wages fail to keep up with rents.

“Our earnings are not going up as fast as we would want, but housing costs - even in rented housing - are going up faster than we would like,” Cllr Looker said. “The two issues are going in different directions, but neither in the right way for people who want to live in York on reasonable incomes.”

There is room for argument over the precise figures. Council deputy leader Keith Aspden insists York wages are catching up with the national average. And they’re higher than the Yorkshire average.

But it’s that gap between wages and the cost of housing that is the telling fact. It’s that which is stopping young working people in York being able to buy their own home, and even forcing them to live outside York. And it’s that gap which, somehow, has to be addressed.