Labour would set up housing ministry if it wins power

Labour has pledged to create a dedicated housing ministry to tackle the UK’s housing shortages.

Launching the party’s housing policy yesterday, shadow housing minister John Healey also confirmed the party’s commitment to delivering one million new homes over five years, with half to be delivered by councils or housing associations.

Healey also published a report highlighting that Labour councils had outstripped their Conservative counterparts when it came to delivering affordable homes.

The report found that Labour councils have built on average 2,577 new homes between 2010 and this year, compared with 1,679 in Conservative-led areas, according to a Labour-commissioned study of House of Commons library analysis. Liberal Democrat councils performed slightly worse than the Tories according to the report, building on average 1,660 new homes.

Healey told the BBC’s Today programme: “You have to have councils building and commissioning new homes as part of a much bigger effort from housing associations, private house builders and councils.”

The Conservatives responded that they had a “clear plan” for affordable housing and argued Labour’s policies were “uncosted”.