New Programme of Social Housing

Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, has given a clear indication that the Labour Party is poised to unveil a significant package for social housebuilding in the upcoming spending review. Speaking at a Labour conference event organized by the homelessness charity Shelter, she emphasized that addressing the shortage of social and council housing is central to Labour’s “moral mission.” Rayner did not specify the number of homes Labour would build but hinted that Chancellor Rachel Reeves would announce concrete plans next month.

Labour has pledged to build 1.5 million homes over the course of the next Parliament, including 300,000 homes annually. However, housing experts, including Shelter, argue that achieving this goal will require constructing at least 90,000 social homes each year. Building this volume of socially rented housing is critical to solving the broader housing crisis. Shelter estimates that it would cost the government £11.8 billion per year to fund this, with an additional £23.6 billion required from housing providers or local authorities. The charity also believes this investment would not only pay for itself in 11 years but also yield a £12 billion surplus for the Treasury over 30 years.

Rayner emphasized that failing to tackle the social housing shortage would undermine Labour’s credibility on housing reform. This comes at a time when new planning approvals have fallen to a 10-year low, adding pressure on Labour to reform planning processes while also ensuring sufficient investment to meet ambitious housebuilding targets.