Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
House-building and energy efficiency are at the heart of the Labour Party’s plans for the next 10 years, according to leader Ed Milliband’s speech to the Part Conference yesterday (September 23).
Miliband said he would make housing a top priority for capital investment in his Britain 2025 vision, restating Labour’s commitment to delivering 200,000 homes per year by 2020, and he also pledged to double the number of first-time buyers getting on to the housing ladder to 400,000 a year.
He said: “We will stop the large developers sitting on land and we will back the thousands of small developers and construction companies with access to new loans, there will be new towns, garden cities and suburbs with a half a million new homes.
“Housing will be a top priority in our capital investment programme – this party will get Britain building again.”
If elected to government Labour would provide “one million interest free loans in the next parliament” to improve the energy efficiency of homes and would use “every penny” of the ECO to retrofit 200,000 homes for those on low incomes.
Miliband also set out plans to boost apprenticeships for industry, setting a national goal to get as many people leaving school for apprenticeships as university.
Mike Leonard, CEO of the Modern Masonry Alliance and spokesman for the “Get Britain Building” campaign said: “Ed Mliband has today backed our call to Get Britain Building again.
“Our 2020 Delivery Plan sets out the things we will need to do to deliver the jobs, growth and more homes built to last 150 years. More capital to support a significant increase in social homes and the procurement of locally produced brick and block installed by skilled local workers is critical if we are to maximise the full economic benefit is simply common sense .
“We stand ready and willing to help the next Government deliver at least 200,000 homes per annum by 2020.”
