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Labour conference votes unanimously for 155,000 social rent homes a year pledge
Labour conference delegates have voted unanimously in favour of a bumper housing motion calling for the party to pledge new 155,000 social rented homes a year.
The vote, held this morning, specified that “at least 100,000 of these” are council homes, “to start with immediate effect when in government”.
It also demanded a commitment to “at least £10bn a year for housing grant, ring fenced for delivering 100,000 social rented council homes to be announced at the first Budget”.
Among the motion’s 33 actions was also a promise to give councils “the powers and resources to take housing associations under direct control”.
The vote does not mean this is automatically Labour policy, with the party’s National Policy Forum able to decide whether the commitments make it into the next manifesto.
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Inside Housing understands that housing was comfortably the third most popular topic for proposals submitted to the conference after Brexit and climate change.
Following a vote at last year’s conference Labour adopted resident ballots on estate regenerations as policy.
Jamie Sweeney, a spokesperson for the Labour Campaign for Council Housing, which led the campaign for the motion, said: “A mass council housebuilding programme provides a safe, secure, affordable home for everyone.
“This is a massive leap forward for the Labour Party and we look forward to campaigning in the next general election with policies that will solve the housing crisis.”
The motion’s asks on development are based on a report from Shelter’s social housing commission published in January, which said 3.1m new social homes are needed over the next 20 years.
During his speech to the conference yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn repeated previous promises for “the largest council housebuilding programme in a generation” under Labour.
Shadow ministers have questioned whether £10bn would be an appropriate level of housing grant next year, but shadow housing secretary John Healey told Inside Housing the party’s current £4bn pledge would “ramp up rapidly”.
