01 October 2024
Labour Party Conference
Since forming the new Government, the Labour Party has made it clear that housebuilding and reforming the planning system are priorities to help the economy grow.
During his speech at the conference, Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke on the need to “get Britain building again”. He also shared a vision of “more beautiful cities, more prosperous towns, new parks, new green spaces, new public services”, and noted that “climate change is an opportunity we can’t pass up.”
These statements underscore the party’s intention to address housing and environmental challenges in the UK.
We hosted a number of events throughout conference, including a panel discussion with the major housing association Peabody, highlighting that while increasing the number of homes is essential, it must not come at the expense of quality.
The conversation explored how Labour’s housing commitments could be achieved, focusing on overcoming current barriers to delivery, such as land availability, planning delays, and investment challenges. Rachel Blake, MP for Cities of London and Westminster joined the discussion, shining a light on the impact of the housing crisis on her constituents.
RIBA was represented by Jennifer Dixon, Board Member and Practice and Policy Committee Chair, who emphasised the critical role of placemaking—designing vibrant, well-connected and inclusive communities—and highlighted the need for high-quality, sustainable homes that meet the long-term needs of residents while maintaining affordability and accessibility.
In line with the aims of this panel, Labour Party Conference also saw us launch our latest report, Foundations for the Future: A New Delivery Model for Social Housing.
This report outlines an innovative model to help address the urgent need for social homes in England, where nearly 1.3 million households are waiting for a home. The model proposes using land which is free at the point of use to build mixed-tenure developments of social and market homes. As the land cost is eliminated or substantially reduced, the cost of delivery is driven down.
When a proportion of the homes are sold on the open market, and all revenue is retained and reinvested, we can build more social homes at a lower net cost.
Elsewhere on Monday, RIBA President Muyiwa Oki took part in a panel discussion hosted by SME4Labour, in conjunction with the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and Federation of Master Builders (FMB), addressing the challenges faced by small housebuilders.
With insights from Roger Mortlock, CEO of CPRE, and Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, the discussion focused on how SME housebuilders can help diversify the housing market, particularly in rural areas. Oki stressed that architects must be embedded in smaller projects to ensure that homes are affordable, well-designed, and sustainable, benefitting local economies and communities.
Later, Oki participated in a panel organised in partnership with the New Statesman, featuring Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
This discussion reinforced the importance of incorporating robust sustainability measures in mass housing delivery.
Oki highlighted RIBA’s work on the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard and called for stronger building regulations to ensure new homes meet both operational energy and embodied carbon standards.
Our events at Labour Party Conference concluded with a networking reception co-hosted with the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).
Held at RIBA North, attendees from across the built environment sector, policymakers and media discussed the key role that the sector will play in reaching the Government’s housebuilding target.
Conservative Party conference
We also attended the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, where we participated in two key roundtable discussions. The first was the RICS roundtable on housing policy, which took place at the RICS Birmingham office.
Adrian Dobson, Executive Director of Professional Knowledge and Standards at RIBA, spoke about the importance of high-quality housebuilding and the role of architects in ensuring that new homes are designed to be sustainable and fit for the future.
The discussion centred on what the Conservative Party needs to do to create vote-winning housing policy, with a particular emphasis on addressing housing shortages, promoting quality design, and overcoming challenges in planning and infrastructure.
Later that day, Muyiwa Oki took part in a roundtable organised by the RTPI, titled ‘What role can planners and local authorities play in creating sustainable climate-resilient communities?’. This discussion focused on the housing crisis, the necessity of involving qualified design professionals early in the planning process, and the importance of resourcing local authority planning departments to support well-connected and sustainable communities.
The conversation underscored the need for collaboration among planners, architects, and government bodies to create places that are not only environmentally responsible but also meet the needs of future generations.
We also hosted a drinks reception with the CIOB, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), RICS, and the RTPI. The event showcased the importance of cross-industry collaboration in addressing challenges within the built environment.
During the reception, Oki spoke alongside representatives from the built environment institutes about our shared mission to improve the sector. He emphasised the need for collaboration amongst all the professions to ensure that our built environment effectively meets the needs of future generations.
Our activities at party conferences demonstrate the vital role that architects play in addressing many of the current challenges in the built environment, such as delivering sustainable housing.
The Policy and Public Affairs team continue to work across all political parties to deliver a high-quality, sustainable built environment.
Keep up to date on our work with Ministers, MPs, Peers and events in Parliament by visiting our public affairs engagement page.