Starmer’s been in post for a fortnight: Do we dare be hopeful?

Two weeks into Keir Starmer’s new government and the mood in business circles is, while not euphoric, at least daring to be hopeful. Going to the polls, the sentiment among construction leaders reflected that of the rest of the nation: they wanted to see the Conservative party out of power more than they were enamoured with prospect of a Labour prime minister taking the reins.

As it turned out, Labour swept to power with over 400 parliamentary seats, its largest majority in 25 years, but only 34% of the overall vote. As so many pundits have pointed out since, with a support base that is so shallow across the country, Starmer’s team has a tricky path to tread. But for now, in these early days, let’s take a moment to look at some of the reasons to feel positive.

For a start, we have just experienced as a nation the peaceful transfer of political power from one administration to another, with the former prime minister Rishi Sunak acknowledging his election defeat with gracious words for Starmer saying “his successes will be all of our successes and I wish him and his family well”. This is a world away from the bitterness and violence we are currently witnessing in the US election campaign.

Our new batch of Cabinet ministers has been keen to hit the ground running. Just days after polling day, our first ever female Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave a speech designed to show immediate action that would be taken to drive sustained economic growth. It was encouraging to hear that plans to get Britain building new infrastructure and housing are central to this vision for growth.

Reeves confirmed the government is set to urgently review the National Planning Policy Framework and reinstate local housing targets, previously scrapped by Michael Gove. Changes also mean a new priority given to energy projects and the previous near 10-year ban on large-scale wind farms in England has been reversed. These statements of intention from the Treasury, together with a new focus on development of brownfield and so called “grey-belt” areas as well as plans to pay for more than 300 new planning officers, have been widely welcomed.

The chancellor also stated that Angela Rayner, housing secretary, had already recovered two planning appeals for data centres, and was set to write to local mayors and the Office for Investment to ensure any investment opportunities with planning considerations are referred to both her and Reeves. It all adds to the impression that Labour isn’t hanging around.

Hence Number 11 inviting some industry big hitters for a meeting last Friday to discuss planning, infrastructure, skills and SMEs. Building understands the likes of Berkeley, Barratt, Taylor Wimpey, John Armitt, Skanska, Jacobs, Mace and several energy companies talked with the chancellor and were invited to feed back on the new government’s plans. While attendees viewed such early engagement as positive, there was no talk of more government money to fund projects. The issue of leveraging private finance needs to be tackled urgently because as one source said the newly announced £7.3bn National Wealth Fund will not touch the sides.

Construction firms deserve a minister that sticks around long enough to understand its complexities

While “change” was Labour’s manifesto watch word, continuity perhaps best sums up its approach to selecting people for Cabinet and ministerial roles, and in this edition we profile some of the key names set to influence decisions affecting built environment spending and policy decisions. It’s no surprise the Reeve’s Treasury team is a driving force, but Darren Jones may be a less familiar figure to you. He is now the chief secretary to the Treasury, effectively second in command to Reeves, and has been described to us as “the link between the Treasury and the planning team”. So someone to watch.

Planning reform will clearly be pivotal for Labour’s clean energy mission, which comes under the remit of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. This is one of the departments assigned to Sarah Jones, the new construction minister officially due to take up the role this Thursday. Jones is also a minister for the Department for Business and Trade and as such will be the latest government representative to co-chair the Construction Leadership Council. A portfolio spanning net zero and business sends positive signals to the retrofitting sector, as does her shadow ministerial experience which has covered housing and decarbonisation.

A plea on behalf of the construction industry though: keep her in post for longer than five minutes! Construction firms deserve a minister that sticks around long enough to understand its complexities and uniqueness.

It is possible to feel wary and positive at the same time. Wary because our country and this industry in particular face so many challenges ahead. Take the 1.5 million new homes over five years target, for example. We do have to inject some realism into the discussion about how to achieve this number. Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association, is right to warn that we need more skilled workers to build these homes and right now construction’s labour pool is shrinking. That is not a detail, it is fundamental to delivering on Labour’s housing plans. 

Construction can be a catalyst for growth, but it can’t deliver overnight. Which creates a problem, but also opens up possibilities for construction to engage with the government about solutions.

Chloë McCulloch is the editor of Building