Exclusive: Housing secretary and capital’s mayor face calls from within party for rethink on homebuilding plans
Labour MPs are urging ministers and the London mayor to drop controversial plans to reduce affordable housing quotas in the capital in order to boost homebuilding.
MPs have said they are concerned about the proposals being drawn up by the housing secretary, Steve Reed, and the mayor, Sadiq Khan, in response to a sudden drop in new development in the capital.
Reed and Khan are considering allowing builders to qualify for fast-track planning approval while promising to build 20% affordable homes, rather than the current minimum of 35%. Labour MPs hope to use the next few weeks before the package is formally announced to persuade them not to do so.
Florence Eshalomi, the Labour chair of the housing select committee, said: “Solving the housing crisis relies not just on how many new homes we build, but also on their affordability. One of the main drivers of the crisis we are in has been the failure over many decades to build homes that are within reach of local people.”
