The Deputy Prime Minister urged fellow MPs to get behind a new bill – saying Britain will only grow if we start saying yes
Angela Rayner has urged MPs to “back the builders not the blockers” and vote through Labour ’s planning bill so thousands of new homes can be built.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the new law will remove barriers to growth and get rid of red tape standing in the way of building the housing Britain desperately needs.
“As Deputy Prime Minister I get to speak to so many great people,” she writes for the Mirror today.
“Do you know what I hear more often than almost anything else? That people feel like you can’t get anything done anymore. Whether it is getting a secure home to call your own or the critical infrastructure this country needs to build to grow, for too long the answer has been no – and it is time that we change that.
“I am sure the readers of the Mirror will be all too familiar with this and will know that by creating blockers and saying no, it has just made people worse off.”
Speeding up the planning process and making it harder to block new development will be crucial to Labour delivering on its pledge to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029.
Ms Rayner highlighted the case in Bingley last November, where a development of new flats had been delayed over a row about the speed of cricket balls from a nearby club.
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A risk assessment provided by developers was rejected by Sport England, because it had not been produced by a qualified consultant and underestimated the power of some of the players’ shots.
“This nonsense cannot continue. I made a promise to the country that we will deliver the biggest boost to affordable and social housing in a generation,” she said. “We can’t do that unless we start saying yes.”
Ms Rayner added: “I am now calling on my colleagues to help us secure a smooth and speedy passage of our Planning and Infrastructure Bill so it can become law as soon as possible.
“It’s time to roll up our sleeves, make these seismic reforms become a reality for millions of working people and families… and start saying yes.”