We (they) are the champions!
Today I am joined by my colleague, Duncan Enright who is a senior Labour Councillor and we are very excited to share with you a bit of news about the champions of housing.
Those of you who follow politics will know that in the last Tory government there were all sorts of caucus groups, largely focussed on their hatred for the EU, or the group of 100 or so who forced the Government to change the NPPF and scrap mandatory housing targets. They largely held the Government to ransom over their pet peeves and contributed to the chaos that engulfed poor old Rishi.
So, we are almost a bit over excited to tell you about the “Labour Growth Group” - a caucus of over 100 largely new Labour MPs steered by Josh Simons MP (for Makersfield and just turned 30) who issued a letter to the PM about the importance of building lots more houses! Or to quote his post on X that was shared by many of the new Labour MPs: “Delivering growth is our central mission. I’m delighted to be part of the new #LabourGrowthGroup - the builders, fighting the opposition’s blockers. We will work together to remove the obstacles to building the homes, infrastructure, and public services Britain needs.”
The letter said it is “imperative that the new government grasps the nettle and goes for growth”. It warned “failure to act will not be forgiven by the public” and urged Keir Starmer and his team to make good on their promise to grow the economy.
Beyond their support for the Prime Minister there is another uniting force behind the group: a rigid conviction that the key to economic growth is to build more houses. The letter calls on the government to “start delivering on our manifesto promise, including 1.5m more homes across this parliament at the earliest opportunity”. One adviser close to the government tells me “it has to happen. Everyone in the party knows we must deliver growth.”
Chris Curtis MP (Milton Keynes North), explained that overcoming local opposition is going to be a big challenge for the new government. “We’ve seen a lot of MPs in the past who understand the importance of economic growth,” he said, “but then when they come into contact with issues in their local constituency, they will come down on the side of not building things.” He is adamant that accelerating the rate at which the country is able to build is key to driving the government’s economic mission.
Spurred on by grassroots campaigns such as Labour YIMBY and the broader YIMBY Alliance the latest young upstarts in the world of the very many GenZ and Millenials frustrated by the diminishing prospect of home ownership, the Labour Growth Group of new MPs represents a dramatic shift in our politics from the champions of growth.
One of the new MPs said that he has no prospect of buying a flat in his constituency with his £91,346 MP salary… This generation is motivated to bring change! Long may it continue!
Henry & Duncan