RESPONDING to Shelter's social housing report shadow housing minister John Healey said the commission’s target of 3.1 million homes in 20 years was “consistent with the scale of Labour's ambition to build a million new “genuinely low-cost homes” in the first 10 years in power. The report was apparently “a wake-up call” to the Conservatives. I would venture to suggest that it is a wake-up call for Labour as well.

For Mr Healey to suggest that the Shelter report “measures up to Labour's ambition” is disingenuous. Shelter is suggesting 155,000 “social” homes (council and housing association) a year for 20 years, spending £10.7 billion a year. Contrast that with Labour’s policy: £4 billion a year grant for “genuinely low-cost homes” which includes “affordable home ownership” rather than all being devoted to social housing.

Labour is proposing to give councils a duty to promote “affordable housing.” Since this includes “affordable ownership” a council could bid for grant solely to build homes for sell and it would still be fulfilling this duty without building a single council home. That’s why we have suggested that Labour should give councils a duty to build council housing.