Six key takeaways from CIH’s general election webinar

You probably didn’t miss our recent member-exclusive briefing exploring housing’s presence in the wider election debate. But here’s a recap of all the main bits, just in case.

Since Rishi Sunak made his general election announcement at the end of May, housing has expanded its presence within the public debate. Key issues such as housebuilding, affordability, social housing, and home-ownership have all risen in prominence and are now being regularly discussed by politicians on all sides of the aisle. 

With the aid of Gavin Smart and our public affairs team, as well as Ipsos’ research director, Ben Marshall, we explored how housing has so far featured in this election campaign, how the main political parties aim to tackle housing issues, and what CIH and its partners have been doing to influence the debate. 

Here are the big takeaways from the session, which was chaired by our director of policy and external affairs, James Prestwich. 

Housing is a big issue 

It might not be the housing election that some in the sector were hoping for, but housing is nonetheless a big focus for both parties and the public this time round. 

Ben Marshall pointed out that the salience of housing as a political issue has waxed and waned over the years, with policy areas such as housebuilding and home-ownership featuring prominently in some elections and scantly in others.

Cr: Ipsos

He said housing has again become a key part of the debate, winning a level of mindshare comparable to elections in the sixties and seventies. Marshall said this was due to a combination of campaigning from prominent housing organisations such as CIH and a general worsening and awareness of the housing crisis. 

Among those aged between 18 and 34, housing is now a top-three vote-determining issue, partly because of the difficulty this demographic faces in getting onto the housing ladder. 

Lib Dems’ ambitious supply targets 

Gavin Smart was on hand to thoroughly dissect the key housing policies outlined within the manifestos of each of the main political parties. While all parties have committed to some level of housebuilding, he pointed out that the Liberal Democrats have been the most “aggressive” in their pledge to increase supply.  

Although highly unlikely, should they get into power, the Lib Dems say they will build 380,000 homes a year, which equates to 1.9 million homes by the end of a five-year parliament. 

What’s more, the party says 150,000 of the 380,000 homes it plans to build each year would be for social rent, a commitment only matched by the Green Party, which aims to build 150,000 social homes by the end of the next parliament. 

Manifestos lacking in some key areas 

All this talk about delivering more social homes leads to what’s missing in some of the manifestos. While the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have attached a figure to their social housing ambitions, other parties have failed to follow suit, with the Conservatives' manifesto notably quiet on the issue. (Labour has pledged to prioritise the building of new social-rented homes and better protect existing stock.) 

Also missing, Gavin said, was a clear, long-term plan for housing, detail around parties’ building safety policy as it applies to leaseholders, and support for social housing. 

Other omissions include strengthening the social security safety net, updates on the Decent Homes Programme, plans for a long-term rent settlement, and detail on minimum energy standards. 

• WYNTK about the party manifesto election pledges on housing 

Planning remains a problem 

Many parties have spoken of the need to reform the planning system to build more homes. It's appealing rhetoric. However, the reality of making such changes is often difficult. 

Gavin said that, while it is right that planning is “critical” to delivering housebuilding ambitions, there needs to be a more nuanced debate around how we achieve the changes needed. 

Outlining a potential route to solving the difficult planning problem, he said: “It has to be a coalition of a central government, with a really clear, big-picture direction of travel; a bit of discipline in the system; proper resourcing to support planners to do the work in a way where they’re not run ragged; [and] a degree of devolution so decisions are taken close to people so communities feel like their voices are heard.” 

However, while planning might need reform, some of the more fundamental changes could take a long time. The question then, Gavin said, was around what whoever gets into power will do in the meantime. 

“Whoever forms the next government will need to think, what can we do pretty quickly to try and get planning working a bit better...and what might our long-term ambitions be?” 

The public supports more social housing 

While social housing hasn’t featured as highly as other areas of the sector in the general election campaign thus far, there is widespread support among the public for delivering more social homes. 

Marshall pointed to an Ipsos poll from last year that found people living in all tenures believed social homes needed to be built more than any other tenure.

Cr: Ipsos

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the highest level of support came from existing social housing tenants, 68 per cent of whom identified social housing as the most-needed tenure. Even those who owned their home outright or who had a mortgage said more social homes were needed more than other tenures, at 55 per cent and 47 per cent respectively. 

However, despite the general support for more social housing, some negative perceptions persist. Marshall pointed to an Ipsos poll conducted a few years earlier that found, when compared with other tenures, people see social housing as being of lesser quality, a less appropriate place to bring up a child, a lesser choice when compared to other types of housing and offering less privacy and peace from neighbours. 

• Help get housing heard with our general election toolkit 

Delivery may get easier under a Labour government 

If the polls are right, Labour stands to not only win the election, but to do so with a large majority. Running with what is still a hypothetical, Marshall explored whether the delivery of new homes might get easier under a Labour government. 

“There is a good degree of evidence that that will happen,” Marshall said, explaining that, should Labour get in, it would be backed by a strong pro-housing mandate and a coalition of voters “more pro-housebuilding than we’ve ever seen before”. 

The caveat, however, would be if a Labour government enters a period of turbulence “and they get a set of unruly backbenchers”. 

“That could be difficult,” Marshall said. 

CIH’s election efforts 

For months now, CIH has been working to get housing up the political agenda. Well before the general election was called, we launched our 10-point plan for more and better homes, which sought to encourage all housing stakeholders to inform conversations with parliamentary candidates in the pre-election period. 

We’ve since launched a general election toolkit, which provides both members and non-members with a range of resources to stay informed and influence the debate. 

What’s next? Well, as Rachael Williamson, our head of policy and external affairs, pointed out, CIH is already turning its attention to the post-election period. 

She outlined some key questions to consider: 

• What does the first-100-days ask look like for housing? 
• How can we be influencing recognising the pressures on the economy? 
• What can be done quickly? 
• What needs legislation? 

Much to mull over, then, as we head into the final stretch.

• Read next: General election 2024: The first two weeks for housing 

Main image: Ben Marshall, research director, Ipsos (TL); James Prestwich, director of policy and external affairs, CIH (TR); Rachael Williamson, head of policy and external affairs, CIH (BL); Gavin Smart, CEO, CIH (BR)