We must “bulldoze through” the planning system to “get Britain building again”. So said Sir Keir Starmer at the Labour party’s last annual conference. He argued it’s time to “fight the blockers” and build the 1.5 million homes that he thinks Britain needs.
But it is simplistic to lay all the blame on our “restrictive” planning system. Our research indicates that relying on a small number of large and highly profitable private housebuilders to provide most of Britain’s new homes is also a major part of the problem.
