Angela Rayner’s flagship housing target faces serious doubts as industry leaders point to lack of workers and skills.
Angela Rayner has been dealt a significant blow after a leading industry figure cast serious doubts on Labour’s flagship housing pledge, labelling it unworkable due to a critical shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector.
David Thomas, the chief executive of Barratt Redrow, the UK’s largest housebuilding firm, sharply criticised the government’s target of building 1.5 million homes during this parliament.
He said the proposal was “impossible” to achieve given the current state of the workforce.
Severe shortage of skilled workers
When asked whether the UK housing industry could meet the government’s ambitious target, Mr Thomas delivered a blunt response: “The short answer is no.”
The scale of the housing pledge would require radical reform across the housing sector, Thomas stressed, calling for fundamental changes in planning, production methods, and market operation.
“The government would have to revolutionise the market, revolutionise planning, revolutionise methods of production,” Mr Thomas said during an interview with the BBC.
Thomas went on to describe the UK’s housing crisis as a “national crisis” requiring urgent attention, highlighting the dire shortage of skilled workers as one of the biggest obstacles to meeting the government’s goals.
Labour’s housing commitment under fire
Rayner, who has been a staunch advocate for Labour’s housing agenda, has promised that under her leadership, the party would “tear through red tape” to deliver much-needed homes for families across the country.
Sir Keir Starmer, too, has tied his political credibility to the pledge, asserting that his government would “absolutely” press ahead with the target, despite potential regulatory hurdles.
Speaking recently during a visit to a construction site in Cambridge, Sir Keir emphasised the need to prioritise housing: “Of course we want to get the balance right with nature and the environment. But if it comes to a human being wanting to have a house for them and their family, that has to be the top priority.”
HBF warns of not enough new recruits entering the industry
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) echoed Mr Thomas’s concerns, pointing to ongoing recruitment struggles within the construction industry.
Issues such as Brexit’s impact on the labour market and an ageing workforce have compounded these challenges.
The HBF issued a statement to the BBC, warning that the UK lacks a sufficient pipeline of skilled workers to meet Labour’s housing targets.
It noted the lack of apprenticeship opportunities, a negative public perception of careers in construction, and the financial burden of taking on apprentices as key barriers to addressing the workforce shortage.
The HBF also revealed that a quarter of tradespeople in the UK are aged over 50, with not enough new recruits entering the industry to replace those retiring.
This poses a serious challenge for the construction sector in terms of sustainability and long-term growth.
How do Labour plan to tackle the housing shortage?
Despite these concerns, Labour maintains that its proposed reforms will address the issue. The party has pledged to overhaul planning rules and invest in local councils to accelerate development.
The updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is central to Labour’s strategy, with a focus on a “brownfield first” approach that prioritises previously developed sites for housing projects.
Developers applying to build on brownfield sites will automatically receive approval from planning authorities, Labour claims.
However, the party has acknowledged that brownfield sites alone will not be enough to meet the growing demand for new homes.
Labour’s revised framework also includes measures to review and potentially repurpose “grey belt” land—previously underutilised areas within the greenbelt that do not strongly contribute to its primary purposes of preventing urban sprawl or preserving historic towns.
While the reforms may signal a shift in policy, experts remain unconvinced about the feasibility of Labour’s plan. Critics argue that the proposed changes to planning will take years to come to fruition, and without an immediate influx of skilled workers, progress will remain slow.
The £100 million allocated for additional funding for local councils and the proposed 300 new planning officers may help speed up the process, but experts continue to warn that these measures alone will not resolve the deep structural issues within the housing market.