The UK government is unlikely to meet its ambitious target of building 1.5 million new homes in England before the next general election, Communities Secretary Angela Rayner has acknowledged, while insisting that ministers have no intention of abandoning the pledge.
Rayner said there was only a “slim chance” of reaching the target, which was included in Labour’s election manifesto and was initially described by the party as a “stretch target”. Her comments represent one of the clearest acknowledgements yet from a senior minister that the government could fall short of one of its central housing commitments.
Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Rayner said the government remained committed to increasing housebuilding despite a combination of economic and international pressures that have made construction more expensive. She said she was “definitely not giving up” on the target, arguing that maintaining an ambitious goal was important even if meeting it had become increasingly difficult.
The government’s housing ambitions have been affected by a sharp increase in construction costs, which officials have linked partly to international instability and inflation following the US war with Iran. At the same time, private housebuilders have reduced the number of developments they are undertaking, limiting the impact of Labour’s planning reforms, which were designed to make it easier and faster for new homes to be approved and built.
Rayner, who returned to the communities and housing brief after Andy Burnham became prime minister, acknowledged that these economic pressures were making it harder to increase overall housing supply. She also indicated that the government’s immediate focus was shifting towards increasing the supply of council housing and other forms of affordable accommodation.
“The prime minister wants us to make sure we’re building council houses,” Rayner said, stressing that Burnham had made the priority “absolutely, fundamentally clear”. She pointed to the government’s newly announced £10bn social and affordable housing programme as evidence of its commitment to tackling the housing shortage.
The programme is expected to deliver around 70,000 homes outside London. About 60% of these are expected to be social-rented properties, while the remainder will include other forms of subsidised accommodation, such as shared ownership homes and sheltered housing. London is due to receive a separate £6bn allocation, although details of how that money will be distributed have yet to be finalised.
The decision to maintain a mixture of affordable housing tenures represents a change from Burnham’s earlier position. He had indicated that he was considering directing the entire £10bn programme towards social housing. However, the government has opted to retain a broader mix, in line with the housing policy established under the previous Labour administration.
Rayner said the number of housing starts had increased by 15% over the previous year, suggesting that government intervention was beginning to have an effect. However, she acknowledged that international economic conditions and rising building costs were creating significant obstacles to meeting the overall 1.5 million-home ambition.
The government is also considering further measures to encourage private developers to build more homes. Among the proposals is an approach that would encourage councils to give a “default yes” to housing developments located within a reasonable walking distance of well-connected train and tram stations. The idea is intended to make better use of land around public transport infrastructure while reducing some of the planning barriers faced by developers.
Labour’s original housing pledge was intended to address England’s longstanding shortage of homes, particularly affordable properties, while also helping to ease pressure on rents and house prices. However, the slowdown in private construction and rising costs have complicated efforts to deliver the scale of development required.
Rayner’s admission therefore leaves the government facing a difficult balancing act: it must continue pursuing a highly ambitious housebuilding target while dealing with higher construction costs and weaker private-sector activity. Although she stopped short of abandoning the 1.5 million-home pledge, her comments indicate that ministers now recognise that achieving it before the next election will be increasingly difficult.
