Labour promises “housebuilding blitz” within days – Sunday Times

The Labour party is set to bring a “housebuilding blitz” within days of gaining power if it wins the election, according to The Sunday Times.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said he would “hit the ground running”, “turbocharging” housebuilding from “day one”, including ordering a local authority-led review of greenbelt land.

According to the newspaper’s joint interview with Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, at least three housing announcements are expected to be made within the first fortnight of a Labour government. Reeves stated an “urgency” for Labour to become the party of housebuilders as “we know that for kids like us today [from working-class backgrounds], some of those opportunities [to own a home] don’t exist”.

The Sunday Times stated that shadow housing secretary Angela Rayner intended to announce a housebuilding programme at the beginning of the party’s second week, “if all goes to plan”.

By the third week, Rayner will have instructed local authorities to start “regularly reviewing” their greenbelt boundaries to ensure they are reaching housing targets, the newspaper said. The move, it added, would be to encourage councils to identify areas to be reclassified for development.

In the interview, Reeves said: “Just because something’s designated …