Labour to miss housing target by half a million homes

Published: 18:00 EDT, 28 October 2026 | Updated: 18:22 EDT, 28 October 2026 Labour was accused of ‘failing abysmally’ in its promise to build 1.5million homes – with new figures suggesting it will fall half a million short of its target.The party vowed in its election-winning manifesto to boost Britain’s dwindling housing stock by an extra 1.5million homes over the next parliament.It promised at the time to ‘get Britain building again’, creating ‘jobs across Britain’ in the process.But in an embarrassment for ministers, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) revealed on Wednesday Labour will miss its goal by half a million homes as John Healey unveiled his Autumn Budget.According to the independent experts, the number of new homes built under Labour is ‘likely to rise more slowly’ than previously expected thanks to a poor performing economy, high interest rates and burdensome regulation.The OBR has now revised new housing estimates downwards from 230,000 in 2026 to 220,000 in the following two years. The forecast then rises to 260,000 in 2031.And it says it expects to see ‘190,000 fewer cumulative additions’ to Britain’s housing stock compared with its March forecast.Explaining the downturn, the OBR, which produces assessments of Britain’s economic health at each Budget, said the changes are ‘driven by wider pressures in the construction sector’ such as ‘weak demand, rising material costs and the impact of other regulatory changes’. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) revealed on Wednesday Labour will miss its goal by half a million homes as John Healey unveiled his Autumn Budget Shadow housing secretary Katie Lam said Labour’s ‘taxes and red tape’ were to blame for the failure Labour vowed in its election-winning manifesto to boost Britain’s dwindling housing stock by an extra 1.5million homes over the next parliamentBut shadow housing secretary Katie Lam said Labour’s ‘taxes and red tape’ were to blame for the failure.‘Labour have repeatedly promised to build 1.5 million homes. But they've failed abysmally, and are set to miss their target by a country mile.‘Their taxes and red tape have made building impossibly expensive. The result is fewer people able to get on the housing ladder, and more competition for fewer rental properties.‘The Conservatives will slash net zero red tape on homes to cut the cost of building, and scrap stamp duty to give families a leg up onto the housing ladder.’It came as the Chancellor announced several measures to incentivise housebuilding in his Budget.Mr Healey said he would extend cheaper borrowing for councils and make all land sold to social housing providers VAT-free, as well as removing biodiversity requirements for more brownfield sites.He also provided an additional £1.5billion for Labour’s social and affordable housing programme – meaning the Government is now spending £40billion on supporting the building of council homes.And he revealed a new ‘Your First Home’ equity loan scheme for first time buyers backed with £4.7billion of taxpayer money.The Chancellor added it was a ‘moral mission’ of both his and the Prime Minister’s to reduce rough sleeping in Britain.He confirmed an extra £430million would be spent on offering all rough sleepers a route off the streets through the remainder of the Parliament, extending Andy Burnham’s promise to give all homeless people a bed this winter.However, he said he is ‘drawing the line on constant changes to building regulations’ except where ‘critical for safety’.