Labour fleshes out plans to ’tilt balance of power’ within housing market

Labour’s housing policy blitz continues to roll on – not even taking a break over the long weekend. The Guardian and the Financial Times report that the next Labour government would enable local development authorities in England to buy up land at a fraction of its potential cost if they plan to build on it. The party is proposing to allow local authorities to buy land under compulsory purchase orders at a price that does not reflect the value of potential planning permissions – the so-called “hope value”. Given that land worth £22,520 per hectare as agricultural land can on average be worth £6.2m per hectare with permission – according to research from the Centre for Progressive Policy think-tank – Labour’s proposal represents a bold shake-up of the planning system and one the government consulted on last year but decided against implementing in full.

One party source told the Guardian that Labour wants to “rebalance the power between landowners and local communities” – echoing the language used by Lisa Nandy during her speech at conference last year about “tilt[ing]” the balance of power within the housing market, in that instance specifically in regard to the private rental sector. This latest proposal builds on the plans the party set out alongside the Shadow Levelling Up Secretary’s speech, pledging to reform purchasing rules to “rebalance power between developers and communities and bring in a new generation of council housebuilding”. It also slots neatly into Keir Starmer and Nandy’s wider agenda to spread power out of Westminster and give local communities a greater say in their destiny.

Labour also hit the headlines over the long weekend after it reiterated its plans to block all new domestic oil and gas projects. Jon Ashworth told Sky News on Sunday that the party will outline its plans to “invest in the green jobs of the future” and “create a more sustainable energy supply” in a “significant mission in the coming weeks”. According to the Guardian, the Labour leader is expected to formally set out the party’s plans on a visit to Scotland next month, with proposals thought to include a commitment that any borrowing for investment should be limited to green schemes. Though a party source confirmed to the paper that Labour would continue to use existing oil and gas wells in the coming decades, the plans have drawn criticism from the GMB, with general secretary Gary Smith telling the FT that “strangling” the North Sea oil industry would be “bad for jobs” and “bad for the environment”.