With the UK General Election mere days away, the country’s political parties have been busy pushing their manifestos to both the general public and businesses alike.
It’s no surprise that housing in particular has taken centre stage, given the turbulence in the residential market; from increasing mortgage and rental rates, to a shortage of housing stock and an ever-increasing focus on sustainability. The UK’s building industry in particular awaits with some trepidation as to what political commitments will come to pass. The sector, like many others, hasn’t been impervious to rising costs, labour shortages and demand which is difficult to forecast.
While pundits may claim the election result is clear cut, we thought it would be interesting to speculate as to how the market might shift post July 4th by taking an objective look at each political party’s manifesto as it relates to housing…
Conservative Party
The Tories have committed to various measures to tackle the housing crisis. The headline is theambitious plan to build one million new homes over the next five years focusing on revitalising brownfield sites and protecting green belt land. They also aim to streamline planning laws to accelerate the construction process, and have proposed increasing home ownership through policies like extending the Right to Buy scheme to housing association tenants. Additionally, they plan to implement a ‘First Homes’ policy, offering a 30% discount to first-time buyers.
Labour Party
Labour’s housing policies are centred on addressing affordability and increasing supply. They havepromised to build 150,000 new council and social homes annually, with 100,000 of these to be constructed by local councils. They also intend to introduce rent controls to limit uncapped increases and ensure more secure tenancies. Labour plans to establish a new national housing agency to oversee the construction of homes and ensure quality standards are met. Green and sustainable housing development is also emphasised.
Liberal Democrats
The Lib Dems focus on a significant increase in affordable housing, proposing building 300,000 homes per year, with a substantial portion being affordable homes for rent and sale. They also plan to introduce a new ‘Rent to Own’ model, allowing tenants to gain ownership gradually. The party has energy efficiency firmly on its agenda, committing to a £15 billion investment in retrofitting existing housing stock to adequately insulate all homes by 2030. They also support reforms to the private rental sector, including longer tenancies and a cap on rent increases.
Green Party
The Green Party prioritises sustainable and affordable housing. Their manifesto includes plans to build 100,000 new council homes each year and retrofit existing homes to improve energy efficiency. They advocate for stronger protections for tenants, including rent controls and longer-term tenancies. The Greens also emphasise the need to address homelessness through comprehensive support services and housing-first policies. Unsurprisingly, green belts are to be protected from urban sprawl, instead using brownfield sites and retrofitting existing buildings to meet housing needs.
Housing is rightly a major concern across the political spectrum in the UK, with each party presenting distinct strategies to address the crisis, focusing on increasing supply, improving affordability, streamlining planning, and ensuring sustainability. One thing is for sure, should the winning party make good on their housing promises, it’s going to increase demands of the entire sector. As such, it’s never been more important to have a communications partner who can help you cut through the noise and get in front of the right audience.
At Wildwood Plus we have extensive experience of helping our clients to capitalise on periods of market uncertainty via impactful communications. Despite the building industry’s challenges, new sustainability initiatives, technological advancements and (hopefully) more upcoming government support means there is still plenty to be optimistic about.
Get in touch today and we’ll show you how we can grow your reputation as a trusted industry provider, focused on building a better future for the UK.
