The deputy prime minister attempted to allay rumors that her own recently elected MPs may oppose the mandated targets if they proved unpopular in local communities. Yesterday, she announced a restructuring of the planning system to make room for 1.5 million additional homes over the next five years.
The housing minister, Ms. Rayner, informed lawmakers Wednesday that the government was bringing back the statutory housing targets that the Conservatives had eliminated for local authorities.
She announced that the annual goal would rise to little over 370,000 households from 300,000 now.
The deputy prime minister responded, “Well, Labour councils and Labour MPs know that we’ve got a housing crisis, and they’ve been very supportive of our manifesto pledge, which was 1.5 million homes, and knowing full well that that meant we had to really drive that,” when reporters asked her on Tuesday if she was “gearing up for a fight” with Labour MPs and councils over the new measures.
