Labour's first year in office: Housing reform, SMEs and the 1.5 million homes challenge – Williams

To meet this pledge, the government would need to deliver roughly 300,000 new homes per year – a level not consistently reached in decades. Recent forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) suggest progress is falling behind, with around 1.3 million new homes expected to be completed across the UK by 2029. This is a shortfall of 200,000 on the government’s target for England alone.

Encouragingly, June’s spending review included a landmark £39bn commitment to building social and affordable housing over the next decade – the largest such investment in a generation. It’s a clear signal that housing remains a political priority.

But targets and funding alone won’t resolve the delivery gap. Land availability, infrastructure readiness, planning system inefficiencies and ongoing labour and skills shortages continue to constrain supply.

SME builder reforms: Has Labour delivered?

Smaller developers are critical to boosting housing numbers – often delivering schemes more quickly, more flexibly, and in areas that large builders may overlook. Labour’s early reforms aimed to level the playing field, with streamlined planning for mid-sized sites, SME-focused funding and a commitment to releasing public land.

Sponsored

Aldermore Insights with Jon Cooper: Edition 9 – Why lending strategy is becoming more central in buy to let

Sponsored by Aldermore

These measures have started to ease pressure on SME developers, but questions remain. Concerns about diluted oversight, risks to heritage protections, and regional inconsistencies persist. Success will depend on careful implementation and sustained support, not just structural reform.

Despite early momentum, housebuilding remains below the levels needed to close the gap fully. Around 215,000 homes were completed in Labour’s first year – a meaningful number, but one that underlines the scale of the challenge ahead.

What else needs to be done?

To close that gap and deliver lasting change, the conditions for SME success must be embedded, not just encouraged. That includes reliable access to fairly priced land, faster planning decisions, and tailored funding solutions that reflect real-world risk. A more coordinated approach to infrastructure and skills delivery will also be key.

At Saffron, we’re doing our bit by continuing to refine our enhanced development finance offering – increasing loan sizes, extending terms, and adopting a more flexible, case-by-case approach that recognises the challenges developers face on the ground.

Looking ahead

Labour’s housing plan is a long-term project. Its first year has laid important foundations: easing planning constraints, boosting SME visibility, and making housing investment a national priority. But this is just the start. Momentum must be maintained, promises must be kept, and implementation must match ambition.

With the right mix of policy, funding, and private sector collaboration, there’s a real opportunity to build not just more homes – but a more inclusive, more sustainable housing market for the future.