Despite Labour’s positioning as the “party of homeownership,” this year’s Labour Party Conference speeches left much to be desired in terms of concrete plans to make this a reality.
The keynote addresses from Starmer, Reeves, and Rayner repeatedly circled back to familiar territory: the Renters Reform Bill, planning reforms, and what has been dubbed the “biggest boost in a generation” for social housing.
While these initiatives are commendable and essential parts of the broader housing landscape, there was a glaring omission—the demand side of the equation. We heard nothing about how to support those in the squeezed middle, who don’t qualify for government benefits but are struggling to realise their dream of homeownership. These are the young families who, in an ideal world, should be driving the market by purchasing homes. Yet, current planning permission data shows only 7,609 housing projects were approved between April and June this year—the lowest figure since records began in 1979.
This signals a stark reality: first-time buyers, many from the squeezed middle, are not seeing viable pathways to homeownership through traditional means. The government’s target of 1.5m new homes across the next parliament continues to resonate in speeches, but without policies to stimulate demand and incentivise developers, there’s little motivation for homebuilders to transform vacant land into thriving communities.
To be painstakingly clear, I am not advocating for a big stimulus policy from the Treasury to inject a large amount of cash into the market. We must be cautious to avoid past mistakes, such as the Help to Buy scheme, which disproportionately benefited housebuilders and inflated house prices, offering little long-term value to taxpayers.
On the fringes of the conference, there has been much talk about private market investment as a solution. While the Chancellor boldly promised to “put shovels in the ground,” her speech only mentioned the word “house” twice, leaving the industry puzzled as to where the real incentives lie. Even Reeves’ own economic advisers have voiced scepticism, pointing out that planning reforms alone won’t attract the level of investment needed to turn things around. The government must step up and use its influence to encourage pension funds to invest in UK housing, which could spark an estimated 2-to-1 follow-on investment from the private sector.
It’s about balance. Incentives must be carefully structured to stimulate both supply and demand. Without a significant increase in housing supply, we risk exacerbating the current crisis. Additionally, initiatives like Ed Miliband’s proposal to ban private rentals with EPC ratings of D or lower—while necessary for modernising the UK’s housing stock—will likely reduce the availability of rental properties in the short term. According to Knight Frank, 60% of the UK’s 4.8 million private rental homes are currently rated EPC D or below. As landlords face decisions to either retrofit or sell, this could place further pressure on the housing market, driving up rents and home prices even more.
The solution lies in expanding supply. Achieving this will require a multi-faceted approach, greater clarity, and most importantly, greater ambition from both government and the housing sector. Without it, Labour’s goal of boosting homeownership will remain out of reach for those who need it most.”
Labour reveals £68m for 5,000 homes on brownfield sites
Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the Government is "on the side of builders" as it pledges cash for council to develop disused city sites.
Empty buildings, old car parks and industrial land will be cleared and used to build new homes under a £68 million government initiative.
Brownfield sites will be earmarked for development “to get the country building again”, ministers say.
NEGLECTED LAND
The cash investment, announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer (main picture), will go directly to 54 councils to turn neglected land into 5,200 homes.
With the funding, delivered through the Brownfield Land Release Fund, councils will be able to cover the cost of decontamination, clearing disused buildings or improving infrastructure such as internet, water and power supplies.
Within weeks of winning power in July, Labour increased its housing target for new homes to 1.85 million homes in five years.
MPs were told the Government planned to oversee building of 370,000 homes every year, up 70,000 from the figure the party promised in the General Election. Now, Starmer says: “I said this government is on the side of the builders, not the blockers. And I meant it. This funding for councils will see disused sites and industrial wastelands transformed into thousands of new homes in places that people want to live and work."
RAMP UP PROVISION
Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, says “It’s positive to see the UK Government recognise the importance of taking a ‘brownfield first approach’ as they ramp up provision regarding their pledge of over 1.5 million new homes throughout the course of this parliamentary term. With an ever-growing population, there must be consideration towards bringing prime vacant sites back into circulation before ever dipping into using greenbelt land as a remedy”.
It was also announced that tens of thousands of new homes would be built funded by over £550 million worth of ‘impact investments’.