The Government’s Housing Commitments: Is the Tory Minister on Track?
Tory Minister embarrassed after Question Time Audience laugh after claims the Government are on track with affordable housing
On Question Time, a Tory minister faced laughter from the audience as she defended the government’s record on building new homes.
The minister, Victoria Atkins, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, claimed that the government was on track to meet its housing commitments.
However, the audience’s response indicated scepticism and frustration over the lack of affordable housing options, particularly for young people.
During the Question Time episode, a 16-year-old audience member named Imogen expressed her worries about the possibility of affording her own home in the future, especially considering the potential burden of university debts.
Her concerns resonated with many in the audience, who applauded another member’s comment, questioning the Tory government’s efforts in helping young people with housing.
With affordable housing crisis in areas such as Grimsby, Skegness, Liverpool, Birmingham, Lincoln, London, and Manchester, there is a widespread belief that the government’s actions are inadequate in addressing the housing crisis.
Victoria Atkins acknowledged on Question Time the difficulty that young people face in getting onto the property ladder.
She said: “We all acknowledge how difficult it is for young people to get on the property ladder… what is important is really helping first time buyers onto the property ladder.”
However, her statement was met with scepticism from both the audience and the program’s presenter, Fiona Bruce.
Question Time Fiona Bruce challenged Atkins on the government’s failure to deliver on its promises, stating that they were nowhere near building as many homes as they had pledged to.
Fiona said: “You’re nowhere near building as many homes as you have pledged to.”
Ms Atkins replied: “We’re on track to deliver our manifesto commitment to deliver one million homes this Parliament. We are absolutely on track.”
Fiona Bruce hit back and said: “[Ex]Housing Minister Robert Jenrick said you’re nowhere near it, 300,000 a year.”
Ms Atkins replied: “We’re on track, we delivered 2.3million homes since 2010 and of course we’ve had schemes throughout the decade helping first-time buyers.”
The Tory party have made many promises over the years, but sadly most of those promises have never turned into action.
The 2019 Tory manifesto promised to build “at least a million more homes of all tenures over the next Parliament” and set a target of 300,000 new homes per year by the mid-2020s. However, the government has consistently fallen short of this target since 2019.
The cross-party Levelling Up Committee recently warned that it is unlikely the government will meet the 300,000-a-year target, although it may still achieve the overall goal of one million homes.
While the Tory minister, Victoria Atkins, claimed that the government is on track to deliver one million homes this Parliament, the available data suggests otherwise.
According to the latest figures, only 687,390 additional homes were built in England between 2019 and 2020. This means that over 300,000 homes would need to be constructed before the next election, expected next year, to fulfil the government’s commitment.
Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary, expressed her disappointment with the government’s housing policies.
She highlighted the drop in home ownership and the negative impact of mortgage hikes following Liz Truss’s mini-Budget. She also pointed out that the government has abandoned some of its previous targets and policies aimed at driving housing growth.
Some mortgage experts believe with the lack of affordable housing, and with the rising rental prices, more young people will be forced to live with their parents even when they have got married.
