UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged the largest council house building programme since the post-war period, placing affordable housing at the centre of his government’s strategy to address the UK’s long-running housing shortage.
The policy forms part of Burnham’s wider No. 10 North agenda, which aims to give greater responsibility to local authorities and regional leaders. Ministers argue that councils should play a leading role in delivering affordable homes, reflecting the period after the Second World War when millions of council houses were built across Britain.
The proposal also revisits the legacy of the Right to Buy policy introduced under former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1980, which increased home ownership but significantly reduced the stock of council housing over subsequent decades.
Supporters of expanded council house construction argue it could improve housing affordability, while analysts note that achieving the government’s ambitions will require reforms to planning, land acquisition, council financing and local authority capacity.
ℹ️ Al Jazeera
Follow on social media TikTok@tut0ughInstagram@tut0ugh Threads@tut0ugh X@tut0ugh YouTube@tut0ugh
