Labour's new towns plan means home ownership no longer pipe dream for millions of Britons, says Angela Rayner
Angela Rayner has on Thursday vowed that Labour 's plans to build new towns across England will mean that the idea of buying a new home will no longer be a pipe dream for millions.
Writing exclusively for The Independent, the deputy prime minister offered 'hope' to ' generation rent ' and those forced to live with their parents because they cannot afford to buy their own home.
It comes as she and Sir Keir Starmer visit one of 100 potential sites for one of the new towns which have been put forward for consideration on Thursday.
A decision is expected in six months time with an expectation 10 to 12 will be chosen and shovels will go in the ground before the next election in 2029.
Ms Rayner wrote: 'It's to restore hope to people who cannot afford to buy or rent. To give hope to 'generation rent' - the young people stuck living with their parents because there is nowhere else for them to go and for whom home ownership is out of reach.
'Decent housing is not a privilege – it's a right. And in our new towns, our aim is for at least 40 per cent of homes to be affordable, including social housing.'
The towns will be a mixture of social and private housing and have been inspired by the ones built under Labour's post Second World War government led by Clement Atlee.
Ms Rayner said: 'The vision was Clement Attlee's, inspired to act and rebuild after the devastation of World War II.
'His Labour government stepped up to create entire towns from scratch - homes, jobs and communities to transform the lives of millions of working families and the economy.
'Now we're bringing that energy back, to create new towns of the future. It's high time – in fact, it's long overdue given the housing crisis that's squeezing people to breaking point.'
The new towns then included Milton Keynes, Crawley, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City.
'The post-war towns weren't perfect, but they showed what can be achieved when you put people first,' said the deputy prime minister.
'Today, millions of people live in New Towns, and they remain a crucial driver of growth.
'Our ambition is that our new generation of New Towns will provide hundreds of thousands more homes.'
Ms Rayner promised that the new towns will have full amenities, transport links and parks while the government insists that they will be community led in design and 'look good'.
She wrote: ' Britain 's new towns movement was one of the most exciting and ambitious projects in our country's history.
'A huge and lasting achievement. But I can boil down the secret of its success in four words. It put people first.'
She added:'It's high time – in fact, it's long overdue given the housing crisis that's squeezing people to breaking point.
'Drawn up by the independent New Towns Taskforce, they are in the best tradition of the originals – enduring success stories like Stevenage and Crawley, Welwyn and Hale.
'As their first residents realised, they could look forward to a better quality of life.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
24 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Hamilton by-election prompts rethink of assumptions about 2026 Holyrood elections
John Swinney said it was a two-horse race between the SNP and Reform UK; some commentators claimed Reform might just sneak it; and Labour was tipped to finish third. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... But when the votes were counted in last week's Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, it was Labour who emerged as the winners with a majority of 602, overturning the SNP's majority of more than 4,500 in 2021 - a swing of 7.42 per cent from the SNP to Labour. Amid poor poll ratings,and after the party's humiliation in last month's Runcorn and Helsby by-election, where it lost the seat to Reform, this was a major boost for Labour. Labour's Davy Russell celebrates with Anas Sarwar, Jackie Ballie and Monica Lennon after winning the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election. Picture: Jeff| Getty Images Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And with the Scottish Parliament elections less than a year away, it prompts a rethink of the assumption that the SNP is on course for a fifth term in power at Holyrood. Labour's landslide general election victory last July encouraged hopes that Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar could oust John Swinney as First Minister and end nearly two decades of SNP rule next May. But a series of unpopular decisions by the new Labour government at Westminster, including means-testing winter fuel payments, led to plummeting poll figures and seemed to put paid to the party's chances in Scotland. Reacting to the Hamitlon result, Mr Sarwar claimed it showed a rejection of the SNP because of its record in Government, as well as a rejection of Nigel Farage and Reform. But he also acknowledged people wanted the UK Labour government to 'go further and faster in making a difference to people's lives'. The SNP's continuing poll lead after18 years in government cannot be easily dismissed and Reform's 26 per cent of the vote shows it is a serious threat, but Labour nevertheless has good reason to be heartened by the Hamilton victory. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Commentators have warned against reading too much into the win and rightly point out the parties' performances in Hamilton were roughly in line with Scotland-wide polling which shows SNP support 15 points down on the 2021 Holyrood election and Labour support two points down. But the fact remains that Labour has won a fiercely-fought by-election which they were widely expected to lose badly and have taken a seat from the SNP who were seen as more or less certain victors next year. And that gives Labour a new momentum in their drive to win power at Holyrood.
The Independent
32 minutes ago
- The Independent
AP PHOTOS: Brazil's Cavalhadas festival celebrates the Holy Spirit
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.
Daily Record
40 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Chancellor's U-turn restoring winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners is the correct decision
Setting the new cut-off point at £35,000 seems reasonable and allows the UK Government to claw black cash given to the wealthiest. But the original policy last year to slash the WFP to all but the poorest pensioners should never have happened. Labour should always be the party that looks out for people on low and modest incomes. They should never be taking money from people who need it and linking the WFP to pension credit was appalling. Voters had waited a long time for a Labour government to pursue bold policies. They wanted Keir Starmer to dismantle the Tory legacy on welfare, not undo the policies of Gordon Brown. But this disastrous mis-step overshadowed the early days of the Government and triggered a loss of trust in Starmer. The Starmer administration has steadily improved from its rocky early period and progress is being made on a range of fronts. The package on employment rights is excellent and trade deals with the US and EU should boost growth. Starmer has also proven himself to be a serious politician who thinks carefully before acting. But his Government has to learn lessons from the WFP debacle. It opened the door to Nigel Farage and allowed him to falsely portray himself as a man of the people. This Labour government can be a resounding success but it must close the door on future blunders. Sextortion fight Social media has much to commend it, connecting like-minded people with shared interests across the globe. But there is often a significant downside to the platforms we all use. They can be a tool for bullies and the unscrupulous who seek to exploit vulnerable or impressionable people for their own gain. Sextortion, a form of online blackmail using real or fake images taken from social media, has been used by criminals to terrify young people into parting with cash or be publicly shamed. A campaign to raise awareness of sextortion and how to deal with it has been launched by the youth service Fearless. It urges young people not to panic, not to pay and to seek help. It is sad that in this day and age such a campaign is necessary. And much like our own Our Kids... Our Future campaign, it acknowledges the pressures young people are under in today's Scotland. But while youngsters are becoming more aware of sextortion, perhaps the social media companies could do more to keep them safe online.
