With the general election looming, research from Knight Frank looked at how house prices had risen under each Prime Minister since 1955.

Under Labour’s Tony Blair prices rose by 211.3%, equivalent to 21.1% for each year of his premiership between 1997 and 2007.

Blair was beaten on an annual basis by Conservative Prime Minister Ted Heath who oversaw an annual increase 32.8% in his four years in charge.

Current Prime Minister David Cameron has presided over 11.76% increase during his five year term, equivalent to 2.48% each year.

Gordon Brown was the only leader to see a drop in house prices under his leadership with prices falling an average of 7.2% between 2007 and 2010.

Grainne Gilmore, UK head of residential research at Knight Frank, said housing and property prices would play a crucial role after the election, regardless of who wins.

“The decline in the annual rate of housebuilding under recent prime ministers underlines the importance of housing as an election issue,” she said.

“It is crucial that the next government introduce detailed, workable and effective measures to boost housing supply across the country.”