Laura Kuenssberg: Angela Rayner and Keir Starmer want more housing - but are their plans radical enough? - Voice of Asia

A senior government source stated almost gleefully, "We've been looking forward to this 'battle' over government planning reforms since the morning after the election." This suggests the government's determination and confidence in pushing forward its new housing policies. The government is ready to defend its proposals and showcase their benefits to the public.

Government departments are prepared to face challenges from political opponents who are unwilling to accept the government's proposed new housing targets. The government hopes to prove to the nation that the Labour Party genuinely wants more people to own their own homes and, during this parliamentary term, enable more voters to live in safe, warm, and permanent residences. Stark statistics also highlight the difficulty of buying a home and the struggle to find decent housing. Addressing these issues is a priority for the government.

According to Halifax, one of the UK's largest mortgage lenders, house prices reached a record high this week. Twenty years ago, a family might have expected to buy a home worth about four times their annual income, whereas now it could be as high as eight times. This means that the proportion of the population renting rather than buying has almost doubled in the past two decades. Simultaneously, the number of families struggling to find stable housing is also increasing dramatically. In England alone, over 159,000 children are homeless and without a permanent address, a record high. Spending on housing benefits to support those who cannot fully afford their housing costs is approximately £20 billion and rising, a significant burden on taxpayers.

Ever since Keir Starmer became the leader of the opposition, he has consistently emphasized the need to build homes. He introduced the slogan "We are the builders" at the 2023 Labour Party conference and has repeated it ever since. Industry insiders welcome Labour's focus on and ambition regarding housing issues, contrasting it with the "negative" relationship under previous governments. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is praised for engaging with the industry and listening to their concerns. One housing leader stated, "It's great to have a government that wants to fix the market, because the market is pretty broken at the moment." Even a senior Conservative figure praised Keir Starmer and Rayner's focus on housing issues and the return of local council rebuilding targets: "She is right to bring back mandatory targets, we were wrong to get rid of them."

Although some question whether the government's approach is radical enough, the government is actively introducing various measures, hoping to help the industry achieve its "challenging" goal of building 1.5 million new homes by the end of its term in 2029. Ministers are attempting to amend planning rules in next month's planning bill, restore council targets, accelerate the construction of large residential projects, and hope to create new towns through a new task force. Not only Rayner, but also the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, will frequently convey this political message: "The answer cannot always be 'no'." This collaborative approach aims to overcome obstacles in housing development.

This intention to "build, not block" is one thing, but turning it into reality is quite another. Countless ministers have told us that they are amending planning rules, but industry insiders, and even opposition figures, believe that planning is a significant part of the problem. However, looking at recent events – on the eve of the election, when Labour seemed poised to regain power, the number of planning approvals fell to a ten-year low. Since Labour entered 10 Downing Street, the number of sites approved for development has continued to decline. While the government is heavily promoting the construction of homes, it has also increased stamp duty for first-time buyers and tightened regulations for private landlords to improve housing quality for renters. Regardless of whether you agree with these changes, the government is simultaneously trying to encourage builders while increasing costs for buyers and builders. As one housing source said, regardless of how Labour talks about planning, "elsewhere in the universe, they are making it very expensive for builders to build."

Furthermore, changing planning has its limitations. If councils cannot address the severe shortage of planning officers, then adjusting the rules will have limited effect. Housing associations responsible for building social housing also face funding constraints. They are required to improve housing standards, but this comes at a high cost. If they do not have sufficient funds to participate in the construction of affordable housing in new developments, then builders who are required to build affordable housing in their projects will also be unable to proceed. One industry source told me, "Thousands of affordable homes are being shelved, which means tens of thousands of new homes are also being shelved." This funding gap poses a significant challenge to achieving housing targets.

Even if all other issues are resolved, are there enough construction workers to lay bricks, or enough plumbers to install pipes? One industry insider told me, "The government was convinced that as long as you pull the planning lever, everything would go smoothly, but you can't just pull one lever and expect everything to work." Another person said, "Labour has become obsessed with thinking that planning is the answer to everything." A more holistic approach is needed to address the complexities of the housing market.

Listen to Keir Starmer, who, in a tone similar to Boris Johnson, says that there are no more excuses, housing is a priority, and his government will do everything possible to achieve this goal. Maybe. But remember two inevitable facts. First, housing is a market, so its success or failure is completely related to everything else in the economy. Many members of the public are financially stretched and have a lower risk tolerance, which poses a huge challenge for first-time buyers to obtain funding. This is also a challenge for large builders: you may not shed tears for large real estate companies, but as one source said, "If a baker doesn't know that someone will buy the bread, he won't bake it – because the economy is so uncertain, you have to wonder if builders will risk buying land and then building in three or four years with an uncertain return."

The second fact is that, although Labour has been talking about "change, change, change," they do not seem to have the willingness or determination to change how the housing industry operates. For example, they have not proposed that councils directly fund projects that get diggers on site. There is no indication of underwriting lenders on a scale similar to George Osborne's "Help to Buy" scheme, no hint of pushing "Right to Buy" like Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, and no parliamentary housing construction plan like Clement Attlee after World War II. In other words, one source said that everything they are doing is a modification of something that has been tried before, while another source said, "It is somewhat dependent on the market, they are mainly leaving it in the hands of the market." The government's approach appears to be incremental rather than revolutionary.

If the government can make it easier to buy a home and improve access to decent housing for those who cannot afford to buy, then they have a huge opportunity to improve people's lives. And you cannot question the ministers' desire to make a difference during their term. But wanting something to happen and making it happen are different things. A government source told me, "Imagine if, in the end, we knew that there would be some children growing up in newly built homes because of the changes we made." This is a commendable goal, but some believe that this ambition is not matched by a willingness to take truly bold action. The challenge lies in translating good intentions into tangible results.

Ministers will tell you, again and again, that they will build more homes and solve the housing crisis. But this government will soon find that they cannot stand in Whitehall and simply shout, "Let there be houses." A more proactive and comprehensive approach is needed to overcome the complex challenges of the housing market.