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Labour will need to override local opposition to deliver its plans for more housing, Sir Keir Starmer has warned.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Labour leader told the BBC he would “bulldoze away” restrictive planning rules, and take on MPs and councils to build more homes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He added that previous governments had been too fearful of local opposition to deliver the homes the country needs. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Building more housing is a question of “social justice,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He added that it was understandable that individual MPs would want to “stand up” for residents in their local areas. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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But he added: “The role of government is obviously different. The role of government is to deliver on big projects.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n- Starmer promises to build new towns and 1.5m homes<\/li>\n
- Labour plans ‘biggest’ affordable housing boost <\/li>\n
- Keir Starmer’s speech disrupted by glitter protest<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In his speech to the party’s annual conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, Sir Keir promised that, if elected, Labour would deliver more homes as part of a “decade of renewal”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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At the heart of the speech was a plan to use dedicated state-backed companies to build a wave of new towns near English cities, echoing those built by Labour after the Second World War.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He also said he would restrict the ability of councils to stop developments on under-used urban land, where developers can meet the criteria in a new planning rulebook encouraging Georgian-style townhouse blocks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Speaking on to the BBC, he said the “very localised” nature of England’s planning system was “one of the problems we have”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“There isn’t the ability to look across a wider area and say: ‘Where would the best place be for this development?’,” he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Delivering more homes, he conceded, would sometimes require taking on MPs and local councils opposed to new developments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Asked if he would be prepared to tell local opponents of projects: “We hear you, but I’m afraid we’re ignoring you,” the Labour leader replied: “Yes. We’re going to have to do that.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He added, however, this would not be a “crude exercise”, insisting the government would have to get the “balance right” when it came to factoring in opposition to plans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“We are going to have to do things that previous governments haven’t done,” he said, including “bulldozing away” restrictive planning rules.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“Otherwise we’ll end up where we are now, which is talking about housing – this is the story of the last 13 years – but not actually getting very much done.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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‘Bombproofed’ target <\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Labour leader has not said where or how many “new towns” it would build, saying it would run a six-month consultation inviting bids from councils.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Local authorities taking part would be able to put the affordable housing built towards meeting their housing quotas, under the party’s plans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Labour has set a target to build 1.5m homes in England in five years if elected, broadly matching the government’s current ambition of delivering 300,000 new units a year from the mid-2020s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Asked how Labour’s plan was different, Sir Keir said it had accompanied its proposals with a “plan for delivery”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Adding that his commitments had been “robustly tested,” he said he was only prepared to put “bombproofed” proposals before voters at an election. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He added he was confident a future Labour government would get “more bids than we think” from councils to take part in its new homes programme. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n