SME4Labour at Labour Party Conference

Monday 28 September 2026 · ACC Liverpool

Affordable, high-quality homes are key to building public support, housing panel hears

Speakers at a full-house SME4Labour fringe called for more affordable homes, a return to council house building and developments that bring communities with them.

The country needs more affordable homes, a return to council house building and developments that bring communities with them, speakers told a packed fringe at Labour's conference.

The session, Building the Future: Housing Delivery and Planning Reform, was held by SME4Labour on Monday 28 September. It was chaired by Margaret Mullane MP, Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham.

The panel brought together:

• Fabian Hamilton MP, Labour MP for Leeds North East
• Chris Hinchliff MP, Labour MP for North East Hertfordshire
• Forhad Hussain, Mayor of Newham
• Patrick English, Head of Elections and Political and Social Data at YouGov
• Amit Singh of St Michaels Advisory
• Neil Hook, Head of Development at Places for London (TfL)

Public attitudes

English said the public agrees many more homes need to be built. But support falls from 54 per cent to 44 per cent, he said, when the question adds "in your local area". People can be brought on side when developments are described in detail, such as GP surgeries and other services alongside the homes. Semi-urban and rural areas are under the most pressure, he said, and addressing their concerns would shift public opinion. House prices are not a major concern for those surveyed, but 72 per cent oppose development on the green belt.

Better-connected sites

Hook said developers should build on car parks and near stations, among other sites, to make developments better connected. Hussain said the country needs genuinely affordable homes, local homes for local people, jobs for young people and stronger town centres. If communities are brought along, he argued, people will not oppose house building.

A viability problem

Singh said that while it is common to talk about a planning problem, the real issue is viability. Starts have fallen, he said, because material costs have risen by 40 per cent since 2021, while housing costs have risen by 8 per cent.

Council homes and consent

Hinchliff questioned the focus on aggregate supply, pointing to the increase in homes per capita since the 1970s. Monetary policy, he said, has pushed up asset prices. The core issue is the lack of affordable housing such as council housing. The country cannot rely on developers to meet targets, he said, and needs to return to council house building. He called for the public to stop being treated as a blocker, and for consent to be built through high-quality, positive developments.

Hamilton said housing must be treated as national infrastructure and councils must be able to build again. Homes must be high quality and located around the communities where people live, he said. The argument is stronger now than it was ten years ago, and every £1 spent on social homes returns £2.84.

The next test is whether councils are given the means to build at scale again.