03 Aug Conservative housing promises fall short of what is required
The Conservative Party leadership race is now on the home straight, with just Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss vying for the top job.
The Conservative Party leadership race is now on the home straight, with just Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss vying for the top job.
This leadership race has been defined by the stark differences both candidates have regarding the economy and taxation. However, in the last week, some policy announcements on housing have begun to emerge as the candidates look to win support in local hustings.
Though lacking in detail, the housing announcements suggest that both candidates are fairly aligned on the issue.
Both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have condemned ‘top-down’ housing targets such as the 300,000 new homes per year pledge stated in the Conservatives 2019 manifesto. Liz Truss referred to these targets as ‘Stalinist’ while Rishi Sunak said arbitrary numbers do little to extend home ownership.
Both candidates have also shown a commitment to brownfield construction, with new houses to be built on formerly developed plots in towns and cities, with Sunak adding that he would prevent an “encroachment” of construction in the countryside and protect the greenbelt.
These policies however fall well short of what is required and have garnered criticism, with the director of influential right-wing think-tank the Centre for Policy Studies Robert Colvile, criticizing Sunak and Truss for not committing to building large numbers of homes.
As mentioned in our APPG report, the UK housing crisis is one of supply as there are simply not enough homes being built in the UK. The timber industry stands ready to build low-carbon housing across the country, however, the policy must be more nuanced and go beyond brownfield construction.
That being said, it is important to take these policies with a pinch of salt.
This leadership race is unusual as both candidates are looking for the approval of the Conservative Party membership which is roughly around 160,000 people. This is significant for two reasons.
Firstly, the Conservative Party membership is concentrated in traditional, rural strongholds which in many cases, oppose planning law relaxations. A good example of this is in Chesham and Amersham in Buckinghamshire, where the Conservatives lost a recent by-election to the Lib Dems due to worries regarding low-cost housing development. These types of constituencies are where ‘nimbyism’ is alive and well, and both candidates will look to avoid brash announcements on housebuilding to keep them onside.
Secondly, increasing the housing supply, particularly in the greenbelt, is a policy that is popular among young voters who have been unable to get on the housing ladder. The Conservative Party membership is not particularly young, and therefore, appealing to this group is not politically beneficial for either Truss or Sunak.
For these reasons, it is unsurprising that both candidates have been coy on housebuilding announcements. However, when the 2025 General Election comes around, whoever wins will need to produce a more radical housing strategy that appeals to the bulk of the electorate.
Whatever the outcome of this race, we will look to engage with the new government and ensure timber’s low-carbon housebuilding credentials are recognised.
