No excuses to not build 1.5m new homes, Rayner says

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has renewed the government’s commitment to building 1.5m new homes Labour promised in its election manifesto.

Rayner insisted on Sunday that there are “no excuses” to not build the volume of new homes pledged by the government by 2029, before the next general election.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Rayner said Labour knew achieving the target “was going to be really difficult”, given housebuilding trends before it entered government – but said she was determined to meet it.

The housing, communities and local government secretary said that within a month of taking office, she was asked if she wanted to review Labour’s housing target.

“I wasn’t going to give up on the target,” she said.

Rayner added that she was personally “determined to meet that 1.5 million target” and said policies such as reforming the planning system would “take time” to have an impact.

She added: “There are no excuses to not build those homes that people desperately need.

“And we mean business on this, because far too many people are not getting these homes.”

Gillian Keegan, a former Conservative MP and education secretary, told the programme the pace of housebuilding was “too slow”.

She said the Conservatives had also promised to build more than 1.5 million new homes in its 2024 election manifesto, adding that the party had made “a lot of progress” when in government “but the reality is, it’s still too slow”.

“The highest number we got to was about 249,000 in one year,” she said.

“Now obviously we had to navigate Brexit, Covid and a war in Europe at the time.

“But that shows you the size of the challenge.”

The housing industry has expressed doubts about Labour’s housing target and whether it can be reached by 2029.

Nevertheless, Rayner’s reassurance on building 1.5m new homes has been welcomed as a positive step in the right direction by Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark.

He commented: “As the population of the UK continues to expand, it is vital we start to see targeted plans drawn up and implemented in regions where new housing is most needed.

“It is essential that full attention is turned to implementing legislation that allows for this ambition to become a reality, and that there is wide-ranging engagement to ensure all plans bring the correct levels of infrastructure and help deliver a balanced housing mix on a regional basis. Ultimately, to keep pace, there will need to be almost thirty thousand new homes constructed every month before summer 2029.”

“We also welcome plans to help speed up the buying and selling process via the proposal of making better use of technology. The housing sector will benefit enormously from digitisation, such commitment will ultimately bring vast consumer value and help streamline systems that have long needed progression.”