Labour pledges 370,00 new homes per year as housing target increases by over 20%

Labour housing minister Matthew Pennycook confirmed his party’s commitment to building more than 1.5m new homes in the UK over the next five years.

In a statement to parliament on Thursday, Mr Pennycook told the house, “We proposed a bold change, increasing the total national target from 300,000 to 370,000.”

This statement comes as deputy prime minister Angela Rayner announced on Wednesday that councils will be forced to give up areas of the green belt to help Labour achieve its target.

Ms Rayner has defended her plans saying Labour would not shy away from taking “decisive” action to fix the country’s housing crisis.

While the housing minister admitted the housing shake-up will be difficult for some, the prime minister Keir Starmer has pledged to back builders over “blockers”.