Labour’s bid to push through planning reforms if it wins the next general election were labelled “technically difficult and politically painful,” by an influential thinktank.  

The official opposition, led by Keir Starmer, has put forward several major planning proposals aimed at speeding up housebuilding in its manifesto — which includes overseeing a “new generation” of new towns, appointing 300 new planning officers, and building 1.5 million homes over five years.   

The Conservatives plan to build 1.6 million houses over the same period – however, only 1 million homes were built over the last five years.  

Labour says it will, in part, push its reforms through by toughening up compulsory purchase compensation rules “to improve land assembly, speed up site delivery, and deliver housing, infrastructure, amenity, and transport benefits”.  

But Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson says: “One of the flagship policies is to liberalise planning laws. I bow to nobody in my keenness to overhaul our costly and sclerotic planning regime. It will be technically difficult and politically painful. All power to their elbow on this one.”  

Johnson adds that the “effects will be uncertain and take a long time to arrive. Difficult decisions will be required. There are nearly always trade-offs, winners and losers – one reason why planning reform has proved so hard.”  

In November 2022, housing secretary Michael Gove was forced to scrap sweeping housebuilding planning changes after his own backbenchers threatened to vote against them.  

Gove later called the country’s housing system “broken”.  

More widely, the IFS’ Johnson says the manifestos of the major parties leave voters “guessing over policy on tax and spending, and on future size and shape of state”  

The body says the UK’s public finances face a “toxic mix”, with debt at a 60-year high, taxes near an all-time high, and public services “visibly struggling”.  

Johnson points out: “We need a government laser-focused on improving our economic performance. It’s good to see those facts acknowledged.   

“But on the big issues over which governments have direct control – on how they will change tax, welfare, public spending – the manifestos of the main parties provide thin gruel indeed. On 4 July we will be voting in a knowledge vacuum.”  

The IFS director adds: “If – as is likely – growth forecasts are not revised up this autumn, we do not know whether the new government would stick roughly to the day-to-day and investment spending totals set out in the March Budget, or whether they would borrow more or tax more to top them up.   

“If they were to stick to spending plans we do not know what would be cut. If taxes are to go up, we do not know which ones. We certainly don’t know how they would respond if things were to get worse.”