Labour’s housing pledge faces a reality check

It will be impossible for Labour to build 1.5 million homes over the next Parliament, according to new data.

Research by estate agents Yopa reveals Labour’s pledge will be extremely hard to achieve as the average number of new homes delivered each year since 2014 is 188,194.

Labour’s manifesto pledges also include abolishing Section 21 immediately and setting energy efficiency targets.

Take eight years to achieve 1.5 million homes target

According to Yopa, a UK government’s typical parliamentary term is five years. For Labour to meet their pledge of building 1.5 million new homes within this period, they must deliver 300,000 homes annually.

However, no year in the past decade has seen new home completions reach this figure, with the best year being 2022 at 214,594 homes.

Yopa reveals if a Labour government continues at the ten-year average rate of 188,194 homes per year, it would take nearly eight years to achieve their 1.5 million homes target.

Farcical and empty

Chief executive officer of Yopa, Verona Frankish, says Labour is offering an empty promise when it comes to housing.

She said: “Housing has been front and centre of every general election campaign in recent memory and every pledge made to the UK public over at least the past ten years has been missed, often by a country mile.

“Such is the repeated failure that whenever an election pledge is made to build a certain number of homes, we can’t help but consider it farcical and empty.

“If Labour wins power and wants to break this sad chain of broken promises, they’re going to need to rethink the route to delivery, freeing up appropriate land and eliminating the red tape and procedures that make construction so sluggish.”

Housing stands as a pivotal issue

Daniel Austin, chief executive officer and co-founder at mortgage lender ASK Partners, points out that every government since 2004 has had ambitious housing targets but has consistently failed to meet them

He said: “Housing stands as a pivotal issue in the election fray, given its correlation with economic stability.

“Recent upticks in house prices and mortgage approvals hint at recovery, yet the persistent housing shortage threatens a prolonged recession. The UK faces a crisis of affordability due to insufficient homes for rent and sale, negatively impacting GDP.

“Decades of social strain persist with little resolution in sight. We urge the implementation of a radical yet credible long-term plan to assuage market concerns. Their proposed target of 300,000 homes annually echoes longstanding government aspirations unmet since 2004.”

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