Half of Cabinet accused of house-building ‘hypocrisy’

Half of Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet opposed planning proposals in their own constituencies, The Telegraph can reveal, prompting accusations of hypocrisy over Labour’s house-building policy.

Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, and David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, are among key members of Sir Keir’s top team who complained to councils over new homes.

Labour ran an election campaign centred on plans to “bulldoze” the planning system and build 1.5 million homes in five years – a pledge designed to appeal to young voters unable to get on the property ladder.

Last week, Ms Reeves used her first major speech in office to outline the return of mandatory housing targets and, asked whether she was a “Yimby” – standing for Yes in my back yard – she said: “I do support development.”

Bills to relax planning laws and allow building on the green belt are set to be a prominent part of Wednesday’s King’s Speech, which is expected to announce around 30 new laws, including legislation to scrap green rules that prevent thousands of homes from being built.

Ms Rayner is preparing to reform controversial environmental rules that prevent house-building in the countryside, despite having opposed Tory attempts to do so last year. She is planning to change so-called nutrient neutrality regulations, which make it harder to build hundreds of thousands of homes.

The Housing Secretary is among 13 out of 24 in Sir Keir’s top team to have criticised their local authority over proposed new property developments during the last two Parliaments.

As well as Ms Rayner, Ms Reeves, and Mr Lammy, Darren Jones, Hilary Benn, Jo Stevens, Lisa Nandy, Liz Kendall, Pat McFadden, Peter Kyle, Steve Reed, Wes Streeting and Yvette Cooper have all voiced objections.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Rachel Reeves has promised to rip up planning rules so Labour can concrete over the countryside.

“But she has clearly forgotten the hypocrisy of her Cabinet colleagues, including herself. When even their own Cabinet is against their house-building plans, Labour should think twice before deploying the diggers.”

In her speech on Monday, Ms Reeves promised to “make the hard choices” to “get Britain building again”. 

But in 2019, she opposed plans to build dozens of new council houses on a former sports ground in her Leeds West and Pudsey constituency, saying she was “very disappointed” by a lack of public consultation on the proposals.

She said at the time: “We desperately need more housing in our community, especially council and affordable housing, and so a commitment to build homes is welcome. However, we also need more green spaces and sports provision for young people.”

Under the proposals, signed off twice by Leeds City council, 61 new homes would have been built on the TV Harrison fields. The council’s decision to grant planning permission was ruled unlawful in 2022.

Ms Rayner was made Housing Secretary last week, vowing to take on “vested interests” to build more homes. But in 2017 she marched with residents to protest against plans to build on green belt land in Ashton Hurst, a ward in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency.

She said she was ready to “intervene” if a plan to build 200 homes on a school playing field did not offer enough green space. The project was approved three years later.

Ms Rayner also signalled her opposition to Greater Manchester’s wider planning regime in 2019, saying it was “right that my constituents are raising issues” around public services. She said at the time: “I have fed that through, as the local MP, to Andy Burnham [the Greater Manchester Mayor]. We have to protect our green belt.”

Ms Cooper, the Home Secretary, was among those who objected to 408 new homes being built on farmland in Wakefield, a plan recommended for approval this week.

Her objections, and a petition signed by more than 2,000 residents, have been ignored by council planning officers, with a final decision set to be made next week. A report found the proposed development was “acceptable in principle” and there were “no technical reasons” why planning permission should be withheld.

Mr Lammy used a debate in the Commons in 2020 to set out his opposition to a plan to build 196 new luxury flats in his Tottenham constituency.

The Foreign Secretary claimed the proposals, which had been signed off by Haringey council, would mean a “dramatic increase” in rent paid by businesses and nearby market traders. The company behind the development push abandoned its plans the following year.

In 2019, Mr Streeting, the Health Secretary, initially supported plans for three markets to move to fields in his Ilford North constituency, less than 10 miles away. But when the bid failed two months later, he met concerned residents to sign a “clear and unequivocal pledge” to defend green belt land in his constituency.

It is Labour policy to ramp up building on the green belt by allowing parts of it to be reclassified as “grey belt” and therefore freed up for development.

It comes as the nutrient neutrality rules, which can make it harder to build homes, are set to be reformed by Ms Rayner. The rules mean new developments must ensure that any harmful chemicals entering the watercourse must be offset by measures elsewhere, which are often so cumbersome that they prevent new developments altogether.

Ms Rayner’s plans come despite her opposing former housing secretary Michael Gove’s proposals to reform the rules last year. Mr Gove’s plans were eventually blocked by Labour in the Lords. Reforming them will be likely to require primary legislation.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We will bring forward solutions to unlock the building of much-needed homes affected by nutrient neutrality.”

A Labour spokesman said: “As the Chancellor set out, this Labour Government will take the tough decisions to get Britain building again where the previous Tory government failed.

“We’ll take the urgent steps to reform the planning system and boost economic growth. The new Government’s plan will unleash new vital infrastructure, set up new energy projects, and boost the number of homes needed in communities across the country.”