Feature
Reform Conference: More homes but the same problems
The HBA attended the Reform Party Conference, which has been expanded in size and scope, to understand what the parties plan for the built environment was.
The best bang for the buck in terms of understanding party motivation is to attend fringe events. These give an insight into who thinks what, where the influences are and how policies have previously been enacted. It was in Wales where the clearest signal was given as elected Reform politicians identified the challenges the nation faces and what that means for their local communities.
Francesca O’ Brien discussed the challenges facing rural and coastal communities in a manner which many SME house builders could identify with. Pipelines of work opportunities for local people the balance between building homes which provide accommodation for local people and avoiding the stocking of the second home market.
There was a real desire to pursue policies that enabled SMEs and there was a strong understanding from Welsh representatives about the importance of enabling and understanding a robust local plan allocation process.
It is of course local plan allocations that facilitate big builder dominance, not the big builders themselves therefore ensuring that planning is understood in its entirety rather than in the singular. For example planners that we will see the greatest opportunity not only to solve the housing crisis but to enable better placemaking and stronger opportunities for regional construction companies.
The value of a procurement process which enables regional contractors was also on show as it was recognised for its value to local employment and investment opportunity.
If you came to the conference for housing answers you likely didn’ t get them. There was a lack of recognition that SMEs are the key component to solving the housing crisis and making the market competitive. However, this serves as an opportunity to remind the party that the housing crisis may not have been caused by the big builders but it will be sustained should we rely on them.
There were some big builder representatives on panels which is not unusual for party conferences but they were mostly contained those delivering affordable housing such as Vistry. However while we need our big builders it cannot be at the cost of our SMEs and there is a danger that Reform reduces the housing numbers in line with reduced immigration, while maintaining big builder market share.
Reform are clearly in listening mode and whichever aisle on the political spectrum one may sit, we all have skin in the game
and therefore with a maximum of three years until the next general election it is vital that we talk to all opposition parties, particularly those wanting to listen.
History tells us that politics and power isn’ t always a good combination particularly with a voter base to satisfy and this was well exampled by Richard Tice, who backs a free market in which renewable energy is not permitted to participate and landscape should not be blighted.
Of course immigration featured as a prominent topic and in relation to workforce capacity, too few Reform councillors and MPs made the link that a strong workforce requires healthy regional employers. This is a knowledge gap every political party has and therefore the HBA will be doing all it can to remind Reform that because 8 in 10 construction apprentices are trained by SMEs, we will never have the capacity to deliver the built environment unless all policy routes start with an understanding that we must enable those employers bringing on the next generation of workers. The Reform party is maturing and let us hope more people are mature enough to treat them as a potential government in waiting, rather than a thorn in their ideological sides. Rico Wojtulewicz, NFB Director of Policy and Market Insight
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