Labour pledge to 'build, baby, build looks dead on arrival'
The Housing Secretary's plan to kick-start building looks 'dead on arrival' as the pipeline of new work dries up.Steve Reed vowed to 'build, baby, build' in a bid to 'unleash one of the biggest eras of building in our country's history' when he replaced Angela Rayner in the job earlier this week.But a report by construction analysts Barbour ABI warns he faces 'a near-impossible task' of hitting Labour's target for 1.5m new homes to be built in this Parliament – or 300,000 a year. Building blitz: Steve Reed's promise looks 'dead on arrival' as the pipeline of new work dries upThe report found residential contract awards – which enable work to begin on building sites as projects move from planning to execution – totalled just £1.1billion in August. That was down 35 per cent on the £1.7billion of awards in July and £2.5billion in October last year, before Rachel Reeves' tax-raising Budget.Planning approvals also fell 29 per cent in August to an 18-month low while new applications dropped 34 per cent. Barbour ABI head of business and client analyticsEd Griffiths said: 'Steve Reed's call to 'build, baby, build' looks dead on arrival if these figures aren't turned around quickly.'DIY INVESTING PLATFORMSAJ BellAJ BellEasy investing and ready-made portfoliosHargreaves LansdownHargreaves LansdownFree fund dealing and investment ideasinteractive investorinteractive investorFlat-fee investing from £4.99 per monthInvestEngineInvestEngineAccount and trading fee-free ETF investingTrading 212Trading 212Free share dealing and no account feeAffiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.Compare the best investing account for you
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Labour pledge to 'build, baby, build looks dead on arrival'
