Anyone who went to, or read about, last month’s Labour Party conference will have picked up loud and clear the message that the new government wants to drive up economic growth by unleashing a new housebuilding boom. On the face of it this is great news, but ministers need to acknowledge that a single sector cannot by itself deliver sustained growth that enjoys lasting public support.

At the moment there is an apparent disconnect between this ambition for housing-led growth and plans to balance the books by cutting spending on infrastructure. Delays to road schemes announced by the chancellor earlier in the summer and the prime minister’s warnings about “unpopular decisions” to come has got the construction sector concerned that further project cancellations may be coming in this month’s Budget.