PM reveals Tory party members drove ditching of housebuilding targets

Rishi Sunak has admitted Conservative Party members were a factor in ditching centralised housing targets.

The Government officially watered-down proposals for mandatory local housebuilding targets as part of its brings its flagship Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

It saw off a backbench rebellion at the end of last year by stating that while housing targets remain, they will be advisory and are a starting point with “new flexibilities to reflect local circumstances.”

Speaking in an interview with the ConservativeHome website, the Prime Minister has now given further insight into why targets have been dropped.

He said: “I spent a lot of the time over the summer when I was talking to so many of our members, so many of our councillors, about our planning system and their views on it.

“What I heard, consistently, particularly from our councillors and our members, was what they didn’t want was a nationally-imposed, top down set of targets imposed telling them what to do.”

Shadow Housing Secretary Lisa Nandy described the revelations as “utterly shameful.”

She said: Because of his decision to cave to his party, planning applications have fallen to a record low, 55 councils have suspended development plans, housebuilding is set to fall to its lowest level since World War Two and the economy is facing a £17bn hit.

“We need a prime minister that puts our country before his party.”

Watch  the full video interview below: