Angela Rayner refuses to water down Labour’s pledge to build 1.5m new homes despite ‘challenges’ – as she jokes she’s on ‘album two’ of Cabinet career after tax row resignation

Angela Rayner has kept Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million homes in England by 2029, despite acknowledging that construction is behind the pace needed. She told MPs she would not lower the target or “admit defeat”, while accepting that higher building costs and pressure on household finances make it harder to meet.

Rayner said 437,900 homes had been built since Labour came to power, less than a third of the overall goal, and that new housing starts were up 20 per cent on the previous year. She cited £48 billion for social and affordable housing, planning policy changes and housing Bills as measures intended to increase delivery. She also joked that her return to the housing brief after resigning over a tax error was “album two” of her Cabinet career.