The government has announced a £2 billion investment to deliver up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes, marking what Labour claims is the biggest boost to housebuilding in a generation.
However, the announcement has sparked criticism from the Conservative Party, with Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake branding the plan “a sham”.
The funding, announced today [25th March] as part of Labour’s Plan for Change, is aimed at addressing the UK’s housing crisis while driving economic growth. But Hollinrake has dismissed the initiative, arguing that it fails to tackle the underlying pressures on housing demand, particularly immigration.
Hollinrake said: “With no plan to cut numbers, there is simply no way for the government to stop every single home built with this funding from simply coping with the population growth from illegal migrants, many of who might not have even left Calais yet.”
“Yesterday the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander couldn’t even rule out small boat migrants being handed a new home – it’s all a sham.”
The initiative is part of Labour’s commitment to delivering 1.5 million homes over five years. It also includes plans to train 60,000 construction workers, including engineers and bricklayers, to tackle industry skills shortages and accelerate housebuilding.
Chancellor Reeves emphasised the economic benefits of accelerating housebuilding. “We are fixing the housing crisis in this country with the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, she said. “Today’s announcement will help drive growth through our Plan for Change by delivering up to 18,000 new homes, as well as jobs and opportunities, getting more money into working people’s pockets.”
The funding will only be used on developments that can be completed within the current Parliament, with priority given to shovel-ready sites, projects that already have planning permission and infrastructure in place to begin construction immediately, in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool.
As Labour pushes forward with its target of building 1.5 million homes, further, more long-term investment in social and affordable housing is expected to be announced later this year, as they work to tackle the UK’s housing crisis.
