There was little surprise in the early hours of 5 July as Keir Starmer became the first Labour leader since 2005 to win a general election.

Given the length of time that his party has been in opposition (and the sheer magnitude of the majority that Labour now holds), it’s safe to say that change is coming as Labour looks to press on with its manifesto commitments.

Whilst it is still early days for the new prime minister, last week’s King’s Speech has given us an idea as to what a Labour government has in store. Forty bills were unveiled as part of the King’s Speech, with a key theme throughout being to stimulate economic growth.

For as long as can be remembered, a key policy pledge of policy across the UK has been to deliver more housing, so it was not surprising to see that this topic was well covered as part of the King’s Speech.

Most areas of policy relating to housing are devolved, and therefore what was announced in the King’s Speech will not directly apply to Scotland. However, it is safe to assume that whatever happens in England will have a ripple effect on the Scottish market, and that there will be pressure on the Scottish Government to follow suit – particularly if it successfully alleviates housing pressures.

Housing targets

There was a clear emphasis on building new homes and the UK Government plans to deliver 1.5 million additional homes in England over the next five years. As part of this, it is thought that there might be a re-introduction of mandatory housing targets for local councils with a view to helping incentivise housebuilding.

It is only natural that there will be calls for the Scottish Government to set similar targets to ensure that it is not perceived as falling behind the rest of the UK. It should be noted though that unlike the Labour government in Wales and the SNP government in Scotland, the King’s Speech did not set any specific target for social and affordable housing delivery.

Some in the industry have highlighted that sufficient funding for social and affordable housing will need to form part of the mix, if the 1.5 million new homes target is to be achieved.

Planning reform

It was made clear that the UK Government would look to cut “red tape” by loosening planning rules to help developers provide more housing. This includes an intention to make improvements to the planning system at a local level, modernising planning committees and helping better support local planning authorities.

Whilst it is not clear how the UK Government will seek to achieve these aims, a number of these measures are likely to apply to Scotland and it will be interesting to see how they interact with the devolved legislation.

Renter’s rights

A new Renter’s Rights Bill will ban “no fault” evictions in England. This is no surprise as Labour had indicated that it would introduce this legislation in advance of the general election.

The bill will generally only apply to England. However, it does include provisions making it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants on benefits or with children, and it is expected that these will apply to Scotland.

Economic benefits of construction sector

Whilst there was a clear focus within the King’s Speech on increased housebuilding and associated infrastructure, the economic importance of the construction sector as a whole was also referenced. The industry is suffering from a skills shortage and the UK Government appears to acknowledge that there is a need for progressive thinking to ensure sustainable growth.

Whilst the detail of how this would be achieved is vague, the Scottish Government will likely need to monitor any reform with a view to replicating any measures that are successful. Failure to do so may see an investment shift from Scotland to the rest of the UK.

Overview

The messaging from Keir Starmer suggests that his government will not be looking to implement quick fixes. The detail of many of the proposed measures is currently a bit light and it may also be that the full effect of any proposed changes will take time to follow.

With the Scottish Government having declared a housing emergency just a couple of months ago, collaboration between the Scottish and UK governments to ensure reforms that help increase investment and housing capacity are implemented effectively will be welcome.

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