Giles Tagg has 15 years’ experience leading U.K. debt and equity investments in residential and commercial real estate. He is also an applicant to become an Conservative Party Candidate.
Labour was elected on a manifesto promising to build 1.5mn new homes by 2029. Keir Starmer promised “shovels in the ground and cranes in the sky”; two years in, this chaotic administration has proved itself wanting. He has now left office with a trail of failure in his wake and the incoming Burnham will be no better.
Amidst Labour in-fighting and Reform’s new ‘Cakeism’, The Conservative Party has an opportunity to create a new generation of life-long voters – enfranchised, empowered Conservative voters – by rebuilding Thatcher’s Right to Buy policy for today’s Britain.
1.5 million. Can Labour do it?
If you believe in fairy tales, then yes. Housing delivery is a slow process and recent news, including that Berkeley Homes will cease buying land and hiring staff demonstrates that this problem will not be solved in the near future. This is both today’s problem and tomorrow’s.
Elongated and complex planning means that the target of delivering 1.5 million new homes is complete fantasy in the timeframe required. There must, therefore, be significant change to the market environment to provide any hope of changing this.
What will it cost to deliver these new homes?
Excluding the costs of land, planning, infrastructure, staffing, and sales, the median estimated cost to build this scale of housing is forecast to be £450bn.
This is not a cost that can be centrally funded, therefore it must be provided with private capital. To enable this, central and local Government must provide a market environment which allows this to occur.
What must the Conservative Party do about this?
The answer is in two parts, first in practical, systemic and regulatory change. The second is in understanding the impact of being responsible for providing homes and housing to those who want and need it.
The first element, the structural and systemic changes, require root and branch revolution of the U.K. planning system. There must be designated pathways created to facilitate targeted assets which are of greatest benefit to the country. This does not however have any value in isolation. If there is not a market environment in which willing buyers and willing sellers can meet, then we will never fulfil the requirements for U.K. housing delivery.
The second element is why the Conservative Party must be the party to execute this. Providing the security and opportunity of owning one’s own home to a generation of disenfranchised voters is a vital opportunity to secure a renewed voter base for the party’s future. No other party can reference history so aptly to directly show the impact of policy outcomes in this area as those related to Mrs Thatcher’s right to buy policy.
How does the Conservative Party create an effective policy regime?
This falls into a variety of areas, which are not all detailed here, but each must be addressed as one collective, cogent strategy:
- Planning – We must simplify the system; we must reduce the cost of the system and we must hold local councils to account for failing to meet decision deadlines
- Labour shortages – We must increase skilled work forces for practical skills; bricklayers; electricians; plumbers and those areas in which we lack onshore talent.
- Helping SME developers return to the market – SME delivery of housing has dropped in part due to the delays in planning. According to a report by the Home Builders Federation; Travis Perkins and Close Brothers Property Finance, 51% of SME developers now wait over 12 months for planning permission. The target time for determination for these applications is 12 weeks. It is impossible for most SMEs to tolerate the holding costs and uncertainty associated with such delays.
- A thriving workplace economy – To buy a home, people must be able to save a deposit, to leverage an income and to be confident it is a safe investment. The Conservative Party must demonstrate and explain how we will create this environment.
Britain has a housing problem, The Conservative Party can provide the solution and distinguish itself from the political pack. The party can be the ones truly able to deliver housing to the electorate and create a new generation of Conservative voters. It is vital that we can lead the argument on this policy area.
Without clear, definitive actions, it will be a missed opportunity to win trust amongst the industry and business leaders. It will also be a missed opportunity to demonstrate the renewal the party has been through.
This is an area of huge importance for the Country and the Party.
Which area would you target first to build a better future for U.K. housing?
Giles Tagg has 15 years’ experience leading U.K. debt and equity investments in residential and commercial real estate. He is also an applicant to become an Conservative Party Candidate.
Labour was elected on a manifesto promising to build 1.5mn new homes by 2029. Keir Starmer promised “shovels in the ground and cranes in the sky”; two years in, this chaotic administration has proved itself wanting. He has now left office with a trail of failure in his wake and the incoming Burnham will be no better.
Amidst Labour in-fighting and Reform’s new ‘Cakeism’, The Conservative Party has an opportunity to create a new generation of life-long voters – enfranchised, empowered Conservative voters – by rebuilding Thatcher’s Right to Buy policy for today’s Britain.
1.5 million. Can Labour do it?
If you believe in fairy tales, then yes. Housing delivery is a slow process and recent news, including that Berkeley Homes will cease buying land and hiring staff demonstrates that this problem will not be solved in the near future. This is both today’s problem and tomorrow’s.
Elongated and complex planning means that the target of delivering 1.5 million new homes is complete fantasy in the timeframe required. There must, therefore, be significant change to the market environment to provide any hope of changing this.
What will it cost to deliver these new homes?
Excluding the costs of land, planning, infrastructure, staffing, and sales, the median estimated cost to build this scale of housing is forecast to be £450bn.
This is not a cost that can be centrally funded, therefore it must be provided with private capital. To enable this, central and local Government must provide a market environment which allows this to occur.
What must the Conservative Party do about this?
The answer is in two parts, first in practical, systemic and regulatory change. The second is in understanding the impact of being responsible for providing homes and housing to those who want and need it.
The first element, the structural and systemic changes, require root and branch revolution of the U.K. planning system. There must be designated pathways created to facilitate targeted assets which are of greatest benefit to the country. This does not however have any value in isolation. If there is not a market environment in which willing buyers and willing sellers can meet, then we will never fulfil the requirements for U.K. housing delivery.
The second element is why the Conservative Party must be the party to execute this. Providing the security and opportunity of owning one’s own home to a generation of disenfranchised voters is a vital opportunity to secure a renewed voter base for the party’s future. No other party can reference history so aptly to directly show the impact of policy outcomes in this area as those related to Mrs Thatcher’s right to buy policy.
How does the Conservative Party create an effective policy regime?
This falls into a variety of areas, which are not all detailed here, but each must be addressed as one collective, cogent strategy:
Britain has a housing problem, The Conservative Party can provide the solution and distinguish itself from the political pack. The party can be the ones truly able to deliver housing to the electorate and create a new generation of Conservative voters. It is vital that we can lead the argument on this policy area.
Without clear, definitive actions, it will be a missed opportunity to win trust amongst the industry and business leaders. It will also be a missed opportunity to demonstrate the renewal the party has been through.
This is an area of huge importance for the Country and the Party.
Which area would you target first to build a better future for U.K. housing?