Angela Rayner clears the way for “council house revolution”

Donning a bright orange sleeveless outfit reminiscent of a building site hi-vis, Secretary of State, Angela Rayner, laid the blueprints for Britain’s “housing revolution” today in parliament’s last session before recess.

After offering condolences to the victims of the horrific Southport massacre, Rayner outlined the government’s draft policy to tackle Britain’s housing crisis.

Labour’s ambitions include building 370,000 new homes each year, reforming council housing targets, and enforcing new provisions to open up the metropolitan green belt. 

Rayner promised that new home builds will “turbocharge growth” and changes to the NPPF will lead to a “council house revolution”, expounding that local councils will not be able to decide “if” new housing is built but rather “how”.

The proposed new method for housing targets raises the numbers for housing developments across the country, noticeably shifting the burden onto suburban areas and rural shires.

The growth will purportedly be enforced through requirements on councils to adopt up-to-date, explicit housing plans, which two-thirds of them currently lack. If councils fail to act, ministers will “step in” to ensure housing developments proceed.

Rayner tied in the housing goals to her government’s new energy policy, claiming that the coming developments will be powered by renewables thanks to Labour’s investments and state-planning in wind and solar power.

However, not every plan burgeoned with ambition and zeal, as Rayner announced a cut to London home builds from 100,000 to 80,000. BBC analyses today have also highlighted reductions in plans for Birmingham and Coventry among others. Defending the urban reductions, Rayner alleged that it was “still a huge ask” but “more realistic”.

Among the more contentious proposals was the plan to develop the “grey belt”, an area of “low quality green belt land” which Labour says “must be built on”. Once released by associated councils, the plots will be developed and subject to Labour’s “golden rules” requiring at least 50 per cent affordable housing, more schools and GPs, and commitments, ironically, to increase access to green spaces. 

The grey belt plan sparked concerns among several Tory, Lib Dem, and Green MPs who highlighted potential risks to farms, wildlife, and England’s scarce natural spaces.

Kemi Badenoch, shadow housing secretary and leadership hopeful, went on the offensive with several criticisms during the session, accusing Labour of disrespecting local decision making, favouriting London, and sacrificing rural and suburban green spaces. Alluding to Rayner’s touchy house tax row, Badenoch accused her of restricting individuals’ ability to purchase council houses as she, herself did, on at least one occasion. 

Badenoch also challenged Labour’s dropping of “beauty” requirements for new homes, arguing that “people deserve to live in beautiful homes”. Labour claims the requirements were subjective and troublesome, which may distress King Charles who has spent decades championing elegant architecture for ordinary housing.

Rayner concluded the session by harping on the Tory blunders of the last fourteen years, alleging that they “never managed to meet housing targets once”. 

As things stand, the state of housing in Britain is bleak. Over a million households linger on council waiting lists, UK housing supply flounders behind its European counterparts, and analysts estimate the nation missed out on four million homes in the post-war era due to outdated zoning laws.

For the nation’s youth, dreams of home ownership seem ever more illusory as the average home price to earnings ratio hits a 150 year high. The rental market offers little respite, as rents rose an astounding 9% last year on average in the UK. 

Labour’s plans, while ambitious, are unlikely to alleviate an entrenched housing crisis any time soon. Yet they could disturb countless locales and green areas across the country with their supposedly rebalanced quotas. 

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