Housing secretary vows building will start on three new towns before next election

"Steve Reed, the new housing secretary, has said he is appalled at the slow pace of housebuilding as he used his conference speech to pledge that work would start on three new towns before the next election. The government wants to build at least 12 new towns and has identified three of the most promising locations at Tempsford, a village in Bedfordshire, Crews Hill on the outskirts of north London, and South Bank in a suburb of Leeds."

"They didn't just hold back the economy, they crushed the dreams of families who couldn't afford a decent home, he said. Well, conference, no more. We will fight the Tory blockers and give working people the key to a decent home they can afford to live in. Reed, who came on stage wearing a red Build, baby, build hat, added: I will do whatever it takes to get Britain building again, and we won't just build homes, we'll build communities."

Steve Reed pledged that work would begin on three new towns before the next election and set a target of at least twelve new towns overall. The government has identified Tempsford, Crews Hill, and South Bank as the most promising initial locations. Reed said housebuilding under the Conservatives was too slow and blamed a lack of permissions for delays, noting long application-to-construction timelines. He promised to accelerate building, create communities and entire towns, and vowed to fight what he called Tory blockers to give working people affordable homes. He paid tribute to Angela Rayner for work on workers' rights, council funding and housebuilding.

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