Lib Dem members reject party plan to scrap national housing target

The leadership wanted to bin the aim to build 380,000 homes a year across England in favour of a more local approach, but they were foiled by a group of young activists.

Jennifer Scott

Political reporter @NifS

Monday 25 September 2023 21:09, UK

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Members of the Liberal Democrats have rejected the party's plan to scrap its national housebuilding target after a campaign by young activists.

The party's leadership wanted to bin its policy to build 380,000 homes a year - replacing it with the promise of 150,000 social homes annually, with locations decided by local "independent assessments".

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The move would likely have been popular in more rural Tory-held seats, which the Lib Dems are targeting in the upcoming general election.

But the Young Liberals were furious with the plan, saying it was not "ambitious enough" for people struggling to find places to live.

The group put forward an amendment on the conference floor, calling for the Lib Dems to "maintain its commitment to a national housing target" and "set a clear direction of travel and serious intent to address the housing crisis".

And it received the backing of members after a vote on Monday afternoon.

Speaking to Sky News after the amendment was passed, leader of the Young Liberals, Janey Little, said she was "delighted" by the result.

"We think it's such an important signal to young voters that we're on side," she added. "I think a lot of us in the Liberal Democrats feel very strongly about housing policy.

"I think we all just want to make sure that we have the best response possible. And you know, we have different ideas about how to get there. But ultimately, we're a party that gets to debate that and members get to choose what they agree with. And I think today was a great example of that."

Despite giving an impassioned speech to members in defence of the new policy - and calling the Young Liberals' amendment "pure Thatcherism" - former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said he was also "delighted" at the outcome as it showed the "ambition to young people and people who don't own their own home around the country", and that party members "get listened to".

He added: "My concern has always been anything above 150,000 social rented homes, anything above that, unless you change planning law... you are allowing developers to decide what they build.

"However, if this does get put into policy, and it's the Liberal Democrats in power who do it, we're the ones who can fix the planning laws to make sure that is not the case.

"There are plenty of people of all ages in the party that argued another position to me, they would say a more ambitious position to me, and they won and they won the argument fair and square. And I'm proud of them."

The Conservative government currently has a target of building 300,000 new homes a year, but the figure has been repeatedly missed.

It sought to make the number a legal requirement last year, but Downing Street abandoned the plan after threats of a rebellion from 60 of its own backbenchers.

But commenting on the row at the Lib Dem conference, Conservative housing minister Rachel Maclean said the party had "descended even deeper into farce today".

She added: "The Liberal Democrats cannot be trusted on planning - just take it from [Sir Ed] Davey, who said their policy will lead to 'the wrong houses being built in the wrong places' on Sunday.

"Only the Conservatives can be trusted to build the houses we need while protecting our natural environment."

Lib Dem members reject party plan to scrap national housing target

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