Labour's 'Stalinist' mandatory housing targets slammed as Tory ex-minister lampoons plans
Sir Keir Starmer's party has come under fire for its building plans, which will impose developments on communities without their consent.
Labour's mandatory housing targets have been slammed as "Stalinist" by a former Tory minister.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government plans to build 1.5million homes over five years.
During a debate in the House of Commons, Mark Francois, a former Armed Forces minister and current chairman of the European Research Group, said: “There is such a thing as good development, but it only works if it’s something that you do with people and not to people, and this Stalinist approach won’t work.”
Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union from 1929-53.
Communities will be able to determine only “how, not if” homes and infrastructure are built, the Government has said.
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Legislation put forward by Labour also aims to simplify the process for granting consent to major infrastructure projects - such as hospitals and electricity pylons - needed to supply vital services to new housing.
This means more schemes will be labelled Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, granting final approval to the housing secretary rather than local councils.
Rachel Reeves said: “I’ve been compared to a lot of things but never compared to Joseph Stalin.”
The Chancellor told the Commons planners will be encouraged to set aside land for homes “brownfield first” and said: “But the answer can’t always be ‘no’, because if the answer is always ‘no’ we’ll continue as we are, with homeownership declining and mortgages and rents going through the roof, and on this side of the House, we’re not willing to tolerate this.”
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Britain is being held back by its “housing crisis” and the new Government has a “mountain to climb” to address it, according to Angela Rayner.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the new Labour administration has already taken the first steps in response, as she pointed to plans to reform the planning process to boost house building.
Ms Rayner, who is also Housing Secretary, added that the Government is also committed to the “biggest wave” of social and affordable housing for a generation.
