Building Brum partner and the leading regional public affairs and communications agency, Cavendish Consulting, is helping their clients and the wider built environment navigate an ever changing political environment, in a year in which we’ll all go to the polls to elect a new Government.

The road to a Labour Government runs through the West Midlands and with every day that goes by, a Labour Government seems to become a greater possibility. Businesses across the built environment are asking when the Party will release its Manifesto and what will be in it. Many are complaining that Labour doesn’t have any policies. At Cavendish, we disagree.

Sir Keir Starmer MP has started to lay out his vision for Government and what a “renewed” Britain under his leadership will look like. But the policies and ambitions that will eventually come together to form the Party’s Manifesto are currently spread between multiple sources. To help better understand what a Labour Government means, we’ve pulled out the key policy offerings that will likely form the majority of their manifesto and segmented them by which Mission they sit within.

Labour’s mission to ‘Get Britian Building Again’ will be of most interest to those working across the built environment and for those who say, ‘they are all the same’, Labour’s plans are already starting to seem like a radical change from the Conservative governments elected since 2010.

1.5 million homes over the next Parliament

Getting Britain building again is critical for economic growth. To recapture the dream of homeownership, Labour plans to build one and a half million new homes across the country over the course of the next Parliament.

Reform the planning system whilst strengthening planning capacity

Labour plans to reform the planning system and arcane land purchase rules whilst strengthening planning capacity by hiring more than 300 new planners across the public sector to expedite decisions.

Planning Passport

Labour has committed to introducing a Planning Passport for urban brownfield development; with a fast track approval and delivery of high-density housing on urban brownfield sites.

Reform land purchasing rules to expediate building projects

Labour plans to reform how land is valued under Compulsory Purchase Order and plans to give local officials more power to buy cheap land and develop on it. In Government, Labour will seek to overturn the 1981 Land

Compensation Act, which prevents councils from buying plots for development at their agricultural value.

A new generation of development corporations

Labour plans to spur the creation of a new generation of development corporations, spearheaded by and accountable to communities. These new bodies will allow local leaders, working alongside trade unions, to play a more active role in development in their areas.

Unleashing Mayors

Labour plans to deliver a package of devolution to Mayors, with stronger powers over planning and control

over housing investment.

Scrap the Infrastructure Levy

Labour has committed to scrap the infrastructure levy.

First dibs for first time buyers

Supporting younger people by giving them the first chance at homes in new housing developments with a government-backed mortgage guarantee scheme.

Download the full report below to get ahead and find out how the manifesto could impact you and your business.

 https://cavendishconsulting.com/our-insights/labour-manifesto/