No ‘capacity’ for Ed Miliband’s warm homes plan, says British bank boss Property A UK banking chief has warned the government does not have the “capacity” to meet its ambition to transition millions of homes to low carbon-heating technologies. Nigel Terrington, the boss of specialist lender Paragon Bank, said Labour faced an “operational capacity constraint” in its bid to implement its warm home plan. The £15bn initiative, which [...]
Right to Buy has been a huge success, of course the left hates it Opinion Labour leadership contenders’ claims that Right to Buy is to blame for the housing crisis are absurd, says Ben Hopkinson Last week in a 5,000 word polemic, Tony Blair accused the Labour government of being parked firmly in the party’s ‘soft left’ comfort zone. Perhaps nothing reflects this more than the leadership contender’s short-sighted clamour [...]
House prices fall again as property market ‘deteriorates’ Property House prices fell again in May as the mortgage rate hikes and surging energy bills caused by the Iran war continued to take their toll on the UK’s fragile property market. The UK’s average house price fell by 0.6 per cent to £278,024 in May, compared to 0.4 per cent growth in April, according to [...]
I’m a social landlord, but London housing needs the private sector May 29, 2026 Any mention of the private sector is met with rejection, or even disgust, in some quarters of the social housing sector, but we both need each other, writes Andy Hulme.
Is housebuilding in London impossible? May 25, 2026 After its 900-home development in Peckham was blocked, housebuilder Berkeley said it can “no longer invest” in London. Felix Armstrong asks whether development in the capital really has hit a brick wall At the Aylesham Centre in Peckham, south London, shoppers are met with graffitied walls, peeling paint and shuttered retail units. The site began [...]
Rejecting affordable homes means Peckham will get no homes May 19, 2026 Southwark council has rejected the redevelopment of the low-rise Aylesham shopping centre on the basis that it did not include enough affordable homes. This completely misses the point, says Jeremy Driver London has England’s most acute housing shortage: the average rent for a one-bedroom flat is now around £1,500 a month, and the average home [...]
‘Downright offensive’: Southwark council slammed for blocking 900 homes May 19, 2026 Southwark council has been blasted for celebrating the blocking of an 867-home development on the site of a Peckham shopping centre. The local authority hailed a “great day for Peckham” after housebuilder Berkeley failed to overturn a ruling against the development, which would have delivered retail, leisure and commercial space alongside the hundreds of homes. [...]
What does new City minister Rachel Blake have in store for the Square Mile? May 15, 2026 The Westminster drama has hit the City in more ways than one. After Wes Streeting’s resignation triggered a mini-reshuffle, Felix Armstrong and Samuel Norman take a look at what the new City minister might have in store. In just under two years, the City has its fourth minister. Tulip Siddiq resigned in January 2025 after [...]
Labour ‘failing’ renters: Brits work for 133 days to pay landlords May 14, 2026 Today’s the day when Brits will finally stop working just to pay their landlords and start earning money for their own pockets, with 14 May the point in the year when the average tenant has brought in enough income to pay for a year’s accommodation. Known as the “cost of rent day”, it now arrives [...]
Housing market ‘still in grip’ of Iran war slump May 14, 2026 The UK housing market is “still in the grip” of an Iran war slump as higher mortgage rates and inflation fears weigh on buyer and seller demand. Brits are still holding back on buying homes as average house prices slip further, a market survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed. The [...]