An important, and very significant debate took place in the House of Commons on Monday, 24 March 2025. But it was ignored by the national media, It was the second reading of the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill. During the debate the Conservative shadow secretary of state for housing, Kevin Hollinrake said his party supported some of the principles, aims and ambitions of the Bill. But they also have concerns he added, for example removal of councillors ability to vote on actual applications. Unfortunately the Liberal Democrat spokesperson Gideon Amos adopted a similar position to Labour.
Hollinrake also challenged the mix of housing increases in rural and urban areas and the scale of the tasks faced by many councils. If he has to choose sides, his party is in the local camp, if there is a local v. national need conflict. It seems the Conservatives have not yet understood the damage their party has inflicted on the country’s future prosperity by running scared of the spatial debate when faced by angry local residents,
Despite these differences there is, so it seems, some common ground and sympathy for the Bill’s objectives. This debate is the first hard evidence that Westminster’s leading political parties might be able to come together to build many more new homes. But there is a ,long way to go too. Without unity of purpose in Westminster and locally this consensus not happen.The absolute necessity for a political alignment to happen is not yet understood inside Westminster. The alternative, a very intensive, years long and enduring national and local communications campaign intended to bring about a reversal of preferences into the local versus national governance debate is not on either main party’s agenda. One of these ways forward has to be adopted. Whichever route is chosen must have cross-party support. Without this step, neither 1.5 nor 1.3 houses will be built by 2029 however beneficial the economic activity they trigger will be. If Westminster cannot grasp this reality new homes and infrastructure stasis will become the default outcome.
Ian Campbell
27 March 2025
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