Pennycook Denies Claims of Disproportionate Housing Targets in Tory Areas
In an interview with LBC, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook refuted allegations that new housing targets for local authorities are politically motivated.
Yesterday, Deputy PM and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner announced changes to the system for calculating local housing targets. She released tables showing new figures for each authority, leading to claims that Tory-voting areas are being disproportionately assigned higher housing targets.
On LBC, host Nick Ferrari highlighted dramatic increases in housing targets for areas represented by prominent Conservative MPs: in Fareham (Suella Braverman), the target would rise from 115 to 794 homes per year; in North Yorkshire (Rishi Sunak), from 1,360 to 4,230; and in Hertsmere (Oliver Dowden), from 277 to 959.
Pennycook explained:
“What we’re proposing in the consultation released yesterday is a change in the methodology for calculating housing targets. Currently, targets are based on outdated 2014 population projections. This has resulted in very low targets for areas that haven’t grown much but need to. We’re changing the method to require every part of the country to grow by at least 0.8% of its existing housing stock, with adjustments for affordability.”
When Ferrari pointed out the seven-fold increase for Fareham, Pennycook responded:
“We simply don’t have enough homes. That’s why we have a housing crisis, with 150,000 people in temporary accommodation and over a million on the housing register. We were elected on a mandate to build these homes, and more parts of the country will need to contribute.”
Asked if party politics played a role, Pennycook said:
“Not at all. Our methodology is simple, clear, and straightforward.”
New Towns to Begin Construction Before Next Election, Says Pennycook
Matthew Pennycook, the Housing Minister, also discussed the timeline for new town developments on the Today programme. He responded to questions from presenter Amol Rajan, who noted that previous governments’ promises of new towns never materialized. Key points from the interview include:
- Pennycook confirmed that construction on new homes in the newly identified towns could start before the next election. When Rajan asked if housing completions within five years were realistic, Pennycook said:
“It’s not unrealistic to have construction underway on several large-scale communities by the final year of this parliament.”
- He acknowledged that new towns alone are not a comprehensive solution to the housing crisis, responding to a quote from the Planoraks planning blog by Zack Simons, which highlighted the massive shortfall in housing:
“Today’s announcement should be viewed alongside yesterday’s increase in the target for new homes from 300,000 to 370,000 per year. And there is more to come.”
- Pennycook asserted that Labour is better positioned to succeed with new towns due to their comprehensive plan, learning from past failures:
“We will succeed where others have failed because we have a detailed plan to drive this forward.”
- He dismissed concerns that MPs in marginal seats would oppose new housing projects, stating:
“Our MPs understand the urgent need to address the housing crisis.”
Rayner’s Taskforce to Identify Sites for New Towns
As Parliament begins its summer recess, Angela Rayner has announced the formation of a taskforce to recommend sites for new towns within 12 months. This taskforce, led by Sir Michael Lyons and Dame Kate Barker, will focus on large-scale communities with at least 10,000 new homes each. Many of these will be urban extensions and regeneration schemes.
The taskforce aims to deliver hundreds of thousands of affordable and high-quality homes, with a target of 40% affordable housing. These new towns will follow a “new towns code” to ensure they are well-connected, sustainable, and equipped with necessary infrastructure and public services.
Rayner will discuss this initiative further on ITV’s This Morning at 10.30 am and on Jeremy Vine’s Radio 2 show at noon.
