Britain needs more houses. Does the industry want to build them?
Developers are wary of adding supply to a falling market
Britain’s politicians are finally beginning to compete to put up more houses. Sir Keir Starmer, Labour’s leader, promises to oversee the building of 1.5m homes over five years if it wins the next election. The Tories have consistently fallen short of the target of 300,000 new homes per year (see chart), but last month Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, announced reforms to the planning system and additional subsidies for affordable homes. That followed a relaxation in environmental rules which had crimped some projects.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Grand designs”
Britain December 16th 2023
- How a Rwandan gambit consumed the Conservative Party
- The magical thinking behind Britain’s Rwanda bill
- Wes Streeting, a Labour frontbencher, visits Singapore
- Britain needs more houses. Does the industry want to build them?
- London’s riotous pedicabs are about to be regulated
- How to kill a goose quickly
- Cheer up, Sir Keir! It might never happen
From the December 16th 2023 edition
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