Sadiq Khan slams ministers on housing as London outbuilds rest of country

11 November 2023 , 22:00

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Data shows London has increased housing stock by 8% compared to 6% for the rest of the country (Image: Getty Images)

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has slammed Tory ministers for failing to deliver enough houses as new figures show the capital outbuilding the rest of the country.

The latest official data, up to March 2022, shows London increase its housing stock by 8% since Mr Khan took office in 2016, compared to just 6% for the rest of England.

If England had increased its housing stock at the same rate, it would have meant a 300,000 increase across the country - equal to the Government’s housing target for an entire year.

Mr Khan, said: “There is still a long way to go to fix the housing crisis in London and the Government is putting our progress at risk by rowing back on targets.

“Experts are warning that country-wide housebuilding has fallen to the lowest level since World War II.

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“I’m using every power at my disposal to build a better, fairer and more prosperous city for all Londoners, but if Ministers don’t invest the funding required into London and beyond, progress across the whole country could grind to a halt.”

This year London met the government’s affordable homebuilding target of starting 116,000 homes by March 2023.

Ministers missed their own nationwide target by nearly 6,500 homes.

But housing experts have warned of a nationwide decline in housebuilding, driven by high interest rates and inflation.

London’s Housing Delivery Taskforce, reconvened by Mr Khan in August, delivered a blueprint of 29 recommendations for Government to bolster the housebuilding sector - including boosting council home building and clarifying fire safety rules that are holding up developments.

Fiona Fletcher-Smith, chair of G15, a group of affordable housing providers, said: “London and the rest of the country is facing an unprecedented housing crisis, and we will only solve it by getting the sector building again.

“We need long-term thinking, certainty and political commitment, and strongly urge Government to consider and implement the recommendations set out by the London Housing Delivery Taskforce.”

Mikey Smith