Party conference season: What was said about housing?

As party conference season draws to a close, we reflect on what the Conservatives, Labour, and more said about housing and how they plan to deliver on key issues such as supply and quality.

If this year’s party conference season is anything to go by, housing could well be a hotly contested issue at the next general election. Much was said from all sides on issues such as housing delivery, sustainability, fuel poverty, and more. 

There were many headline-grabbing announcements, from the Lib Dem’s plans to build 150,000 social housing units a year to Labour’s aim of delivering 1.5m new homes by the end of next parliament. 

Here are the main takeaways. 

Conservatives 

While many of this year’s party conferences added credence to the idea that housing is inching its way up the political agenda, it remained a footnote at the Conservatives’ annual get-together. 

It was on the fringes, however, away from all the talk of HS2 and cigarettes, where some insight into the party’s plans for housing could be gleaned. As our head of policy, Rachael Williamson, highlighted in a recent Big Issue article, Michael Gove and co were keen to reiterate the government’s ‘long-term’ plan for housing and the progress it says is being made on private-rented-sector reforms. 

Aside from announcing an £80m pot to support social landlords with the rollout of insulation and heat pumps, as part of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, there wasn’t much said that was new on the government’s plans for the sector. 

Rachael Williamson summed up the conference’s view on housing in her Big Issue article, saying: “[There] seemed to be a consensus that the current housing system is broken and that there is no ‘silver bullet’ to fix it.” 

Labour 

The big headline from this year’s party conference season came from Labour, who unveiled their plan to build 1.5m new homes by the end of the next parliament, should they come to power. 

In his keynote, a be-glittered Sir Keir Starmer outlined a seemingly comprehensive plan to boost the supply and quality of new homes in the UK. 

The plan included proposals to deliver a “blitz” of planning reform to quickly boost housebuilding; a new generation of ‘new towns’; a package of devolution to mayors, with stronger powers over planning and control over housing investment; a ‘planning passport’ for urban brownfield development; and “first dibs” for first-time buyers to help younger people get on the housing ladder, supported by a government-backed mortgage-guarantee scheme. 

Our CEO, Gavin Smart, welcomed each of the announcements. He said: “The housing crisis needs bold and ambitious action to address it, so we really welcome the announcements by Keir Starmer today to tackle it head on with a housing recovery plan which reflects many of the asks in our housing manifesto.

"An effective planning system, backed with the right resources, is key to ensuring we have the right homes in the right places that people can afford. 

“A focus on devolution should help ensure targeted and community-centred investment, supported by a focus on brownfield development. 

“A new towns programme should help address the huge deficit in truly affordable housing supply for this generation and the next, whilst supporting sustainable and holistic development. 

"Everyone should have the right to a secure, decent and affordable home so it’s good to see a clear focus on renters as well as the next generation of homeowners, with a commitment to rental and leasehold reform as well as support for first time buyers.” 

He concluded: "Housing should provide a foundation from which to build your life. It’s great to see it given the prominence it deserves in the announcements we’ve heard this week.” 

Liberal Democrats 

The Liberal Democrats may not hold as much sway in the political arena as they used to, but that didn’t stop them from unveiling some bold plans for housing at their annual conference. In fact, it was at the Lib Dems’ get-together where social housing got its biggest boon, with the party pledging to build 150,000 social homes a year by the end of the next parliament. 

To hit this target, the party said it would give new powers to local authorities so they could build more of their own social and affordable stock. 

The Lib Dems’ plan to build more social housing was just one of a wider swathe of housing policies unveiled during the conference, which included: 

• Launching a 10-year emergency programme to insulate Britain’s homes, as well as new standards to ensure new homes are warm, cheap to heat and produce minimal emissions 
• Ensuring developers build appropriate infrastructure needed for new housing developments 
• Abolishing leaseholds for residential properties and effectively ending ground rents by cutting them to a nominal fee 
• Introducing a ‘fair deal for renters’, including longer default tenancies, rent smoothing over the course of a tenancy, and banning no-fault evictions 
• Introducing new powers for local authorities to control and manage second homes and holiday lets 
• Building 10 new garden cities. 

Many in the sector welcomed the Lib Dems’ plans for housing. On X, the National Housing Federation said: “Positive to hear the focus on housing in party manifesto discussions at @LibDems conference, including commitment to a target of building 150,000 new homes a year by the end of Parliament.” 

Homelessness charity Shelter said: “We need all political parties to now show this level of ambition if we are serious about ending the housing emergency.” 

Though the announcements do make for welcome reading, they weren’t without drama. Before the conference had begun, members defied the party leadership by voting down plans to scrap the party’s target of delivering 380,000 homes a year. 

The leadership had proposed replacing the target with "independently assessed" targets for local authorities. 

Green Party 

The Green Party has historically made up for its lack of political presence with sheer ambition. True to form, at this year’s conference, co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay unveiled a massive £145bn plan to boost the energy-efficiency of the UK’s housing stock. 

Under the policy, renters would be able to insist their landlord apply for grants or low-interest government-backed loans to improve the energy efficiency of their home. The party said grants would also be given to homeowners in poverty, so they too could improve the energy efficiency of their home. 

Others, meanwhile, would be eligible for property-linked loans, which the party said would be paid back via the resultant savings on energy bills. 

The party said the plan would bring about a reduction in carbon emissions and fuel poverty and an increase in energy-bill savings. 

In a keynote speech, Carla Denyer said: “Every home should be properly insulated and free from damp and mould – we would give renters the legal right to demand this from their landlords.” 

SNP 

While SNP operates exclusively in Scotland, their presence within the wider realm of UK politics is undeniable. 

At their annual conference, which concluded just this week, First Minister Humza Yousaf told conference of his party’s plan to issue Scotland’s first ever bond, which could see it raise up to £450m a year. 

While this might not seem like it has anything to do with housing, Yousaf said the bond would be used to fund the delivery of affordable housing and other infrastructure projects. 

“Brick by brick – institution by institution – we are laying the foundations for what will be our newly independent state,” Yousaf said. 

During his keynote, the first minister also announced a freeze on Scottish council tax, confirming rates will remain at current levels when councils across Scotland outline their budgets for 2024-25. 

• Read our 10-point plan for housing 

Image: Glitter-dusted Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at this year's Labour Party Conference. Credit: Martin Suker/Shutterstock