Can Andy Burnham solve the UK's housing crisis?
Summary
Andy Burnham, soon to be UK Prime Minister, faces a big housing problem with high prices and long waits for affordable homes. The UK government has promised to build many new homes, but it is not meeting its current targets.Key Facts
- The average house price in England was £300,000 last year, about eight times the average salary.
- The Labour government wants to build 1.5 million new homes in England during this Parliament but is already behind schedule.
- Andy Burnham plans a large council house-building program, the biggest since after World War II, but has not given exact details.
- The government pledged £39 billion to build 300,000 new social and affordable homes over 10 years.
- Council house building has fallen sharply since the 1980s due to past policies that sold many local authority homes.
- In 2025, councils built only 1,970 new homes, compared to almost 200,000 per year in the 1950s.
- To meet Burnham’s goals, councils would need much more money and staff to manage large building projects.
- Only about 204,000 new homes were built in the 12 months to March 2024, below the yearly target needed to reach 1.5 million homes.
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