“Your red box, Secretary of State”. This is a sentence that no Labour MP has heard in fourteen years.
But this is what Angela Rayner will have heard as she adjusted the height of her desk chair at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as the new Secretary of State. It should be noted that one of Rayner's first changes was to the title of her department, dropping 'Levelling Up' and forming the new department of 'Housing, Communities and Local Government.' This comes in a bid to go 'back to basics' and entirely ditching the Levelling Up agenda, which Rayner has labelled a 'sham'.
Already lots of attention has been paid to the Rayner’s backstory, particularly noting she is the first Housing Secretary to have actually lived in social housing. At 16 she had her first of three sons, and at 37 she became a grandmother. Hailing from a Council Estate in Stockport in Greater Manchester and having struggled through a failing secondary modern school – she went on to become a care worker and became involved in the trade union movement, and then the Labour Party. In 2015 she was elected as MP for Ashton under Lyne, which has re-elected her in the following three general elections.
She has indicated her support for addressing the housing crisis head-on. She has been on message throughout the election campaign promoting Labour as the party of homeownership, unlocking new sites for development and creating the next generation of new towns.
Rayner will now be at the forefront of delivering Labour’s ambitious housebuilding plans which include the development of 1.5 million new houses in 5 years. She will lead on revising the National Planning Policy Framework, recruiting the ranks of planning officers (aiming for 600) and reforming the planning process. She will have to convince local authorities to re-accept imposed housing targets and quell disquiet in the Greenbelt as she aims her crosshairs at “greybelt” sites.
Notwithstanding Rayner’s brief, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves led Monday’s press conference on housing issues. Having the Minister who controls the purse strings making housing announcements on day one shows how high on the agenda the built environment is to the government, but it will be Rayner’s team to push policy forward and deliver on Labour’s manifesto pledges.
Keir Starmer has also brought Matthew Pennycook, the MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, as a housing minister, into her department, along with Jim McMahon, the MP for Oldham West to support Rayner in her role. Pennycook has been appointed to a role which has had 16 ministers over the course of fourteen years of Conservative government, and nine during the thirteen years of Blair and Brown’s leadership. He will lead on pushing the Renters Reform Bill through parliament and delivering on Labour’s housebuilding strategy.
The areas in dire need of affordable housing supply are in the South East and around the big cities. These areas often overlap with greenbelt, national parks and areas of outstanding national beauty. This could be the first snag in Labour’s bold policy adventure. Meaningful engagement with communities (particularly those communities who did not join in with the Labour tsunami) will be crucial, as it always is in bringing people along with the vision for new developments.
Labour needs to ensure there is clear communication and involvement of communities in the planning process, while delivering on their manifesto commitments. By working closely with local councils, environmental groups, and residents, Labour can find solutions that meet housing needs while protecting valued green spaces and open countryside. Silverstone Communications understands best that showing a willingness to listen and adjust plans based on community input will help build trust and gain supporters in the long term.
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