Councils will be forced to build homes to fix England’s housing crisis, says Starmer

Keir Starmer said the government will ‘put builders not blockers first’ and ‘overhaul the broken planning system’. Photograph: Irene Miller/Shutterstock

England’s housing crisis cannot be solved without forcing councils to build more homes, the government has said, as ministers confirm binding targets that will compel authorities to build 370,000 homes a year.

Keir Starmer said his government “owes it to working families to take urgent action”, as he and the housing secretary, Angela Rayner, announce how much each area must build over the next parliament.