To wonder why the government isn’t building more flats?

Because government does not building housing in the UK. That is done by private firms and landowners who seek to maximise profit above all else. Additionally, the archaic way in which flats are usually 'owned' in England and Wales (leasehold) makes it a generally unattractive proposition, and renting is even more unattractive, with no security of tenure, no rights to re-decorate, restrictions on pets etc.

The way that property is owned, rented, and generally thought about in most other European countries is simply very different to how it is in England and Wales (Scotland is a bit more sane and I have no idea about NI).

You should come to my home town. They are building blocks of flats everywhere. The trouble is they have insufficient parking and the blocks are sold to London boroughs which ship down their own people on housing lists. Crime has rocketed and the town centre is now a no-go area at night. It has ruined the town and locals still can't get cheap housing.

I lived in one starting out and never again. The monthly leasehold charges just kept rising each year so it was more expensive to live in than a house. Also several more neighbours who can make your life hell.

I completely agree, and think the problem is that in the UK all but the most pricey are seemingly designed as 'stop-gaps'. A friend's very 'ordinary' european flat I stayed in once (it would have been exceptional by UK standards apart from mansion flats of the 1920s) had three bedrooms, full bathroom and cloakroom style loo, separate kitchen that had sliding doors to a large sitting room and lots of built in storage cupboards!

So many new build flats I've seen and indeed owned and lived in two of them have low ceilings, odd layouts and not enough storage for the average couple let alone family (like secure bike storage, somewhere to put hoover iron ironing board and xmas decs). Of course you could be an impressive minimalist but it's hard.

I think if more people (in London at least) had access to a 3-bed flat with a decent balcony, sensible storage and good noise insulation then a lot of people would stay put a lot longer. I would have!