As part of HRH King Charles’ address at the opening of Parliament today (17th July), he reaffirmed the promises made by Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Government to ‘Get Britain Building’.
Acknowledging the economic and cost-of-living struggles over the past few years, the King said that “securing economic growth will be a fundamental mission” of his Government.
Vowing to prioritise wealth creation and high living standards, the King announced that the new Government would introduce planning reform, in line with promises made by the Labour Party during recent election campaigning.
King Charles said the Government would seek to “accelerate the delivery on quality infrastructure and housing.”
This echoed the policy set in motion by Starmer’s Government to build more than 300,000 homes a year, and more than 1.5 new houses over this Parliamentary term.
As for the rental sector, the King pledged further Government support of tenants, stating that “legislation will be introduced to give greater rights and protection to people renting their homes.”
Such legislation is set to include the abolishment of ‘no-fault’ evictions, as well as new guidance on leasehold and commonhold reform.
Reaction:
Simon Webb, managing director of capital markets and LiveMore:
“The King’s speech today set out some unsurprising but commendable housebuilding targets from the Government, demonstrating a clear commitment to tackling the housing shortage.
“However, it is disheartening that the extension of the stamp duty exemption for all buyers has been neglected once again.
“This omission continues to place unnecessary financial burdens on those looking to move.
“The Government needs to take decisive action and revamp the current process to ease the pressure on older homeowners who are keen to downsize but find themselves stuck due to prohibitive costs.
“An urgent overhaul could significantly benefit these individuals and help release larger homes back into the market, thus providing a more balanced and efficient housing solution for everyone.”
Tom Clougherty, executive director of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA):
“The King’s Speech promises several welcome measures to get Britain building and growing again, particularly measures to enable more infrastructure and housing.
“The biggest handbrake on growth is undoubtedly our broken planning system.
“But we must not be starry-eyed about the rhetoric on growth when much of the agenda pushes in the opposite direction. Pro-growth measures risk being held back by new red tape and risky ‘mission-led’ central planning.
“The ban on new North Sea oil and gas will continue to hamstring Britain’s recovery from the energy crisis.
“A stack of new regulations on the labour market will reduce flexibility and increase structural unemployment.
“Rail nationalisation and industrial strategy are fraught with the risks of wasted taxpayer money, trade union dominance, and cronyism.
“New AI regulations could make Britain less hospitable for investing in developing world-leading technologies. The smoking ban takes away freedom from future adults while risking the creation of a mass criminal black market.”
Maria Harris, chair of the Open Property Data Association:
“While the Government’s commitment to ambitious housebuilding targets is the key message, we’re delighted to see that the Digital Information and Smart Data bill has been included in today’s announcements.
“Solving the housing crisis is not just a housing numbers game. Our chronically poor and sclerotic homebuying process contributes significantly to the crisis by blocking home moves and engendering low consumer confidence.
“We look forward to seeing the Government’s plans to take ownership of an urgent overhaul of the process, ensuring property data is digitised at source and that transactions are underpinned by a digital ecosystem.
“Shareable digital data, true interoperability, and stronger cyber standards will hugely improve the productivity and efficiency of the homebuying market for everyone.”
Melanie Spencer, sales and growth lead at Target Group:
“With growth being the new government’s ‘north star’, it’s not surprising to see house building form a key part of its plans. Given the key role housing and the mortgage market plays in the success of the wider economy, this should absolutely be a priority.
“The return of mandatory housebuilding targets is an important step in keeping central government and local councils to task.
“However, with successive governments having limited success with housebuilding, it will be interesting to see how much impact this will actually have.
“While changes to planning rules will certainly support this commitment, will it all be enough to solve the chronic undersupply of housing in the UK and unlock potential buyers?
“Even so, with any growth in supply, there is the potential for greater pressure on the already complex house buying process.
“As an industry, it’s important we continue to play our part to transform the home buying experience, providing lenders and borrowers with all the necessary tools and innovations to support faster decision making and access to wider product choice to make this process as seamless as possible for all parties.”
Ben Twomey, chief executive, Generation Rent:
“It is welcome to see the end to no-fault evictions included in the government’s plans. After five years of promises from the previous government, with no improvements at the end of it, renters are understandably demoralised and wary of new commitments.
“The government faces a big test to reassure voters that it can quickly turn promises into action and change things for the better.
“These reforms must therefore go further than the previous government planned, with real support for tenants whose landlord wants to sell or move back in to prevent homelessness.
“This includes more time to enjoy our homes without fearing eviction, and more notice and financial support if this happens.
“Similarly, empowering tenants to challenge rent increases won’t work if we still end up with rents rising faster than our incomes.”
Simon Brown, CEO of Landmark Information Group:
“We are encouraged by the Government’s approach to planning reform, which is a crucial step toward unlocking economic potential.
Labour has the opportunity to address the complexities and fragmentation in the UK’s planning system.
“Systemic issues such as poor information sharing and overburdened professionals currently slow down the market.
“Leveraging the relevant data can identify demand hotspots and streamline development; building homes in the places people want to live and work, with the necessary infrastructure to support them.
“Landmark looks forward to collaborating with policymakers to support these initiatives and contribute to a more efficient and effective planning process.
“By utilising data and encouraging cross-industry communication, together we can meet our new Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million homes under this parliament.”
