EXCLUSIVE: The Conservatives have hit out at Labour after they blocked the removal of EU red tape when they were in opposition.
Starmer’s Labour has been accused of bending to EU law (Image: Getty)
Labour has been accused of “bulldozing” through local communities and bowing down to EU law as Sir Keir Starmer‘s government sets out its housebuilding plans.
Under a plan to deliver 1.5 million new homes in the UK, the Government is demanding “immediate, mandatory” housing targets from local councils.
The proposal will give councils just 12 weeks to set out a timetable for delivering new homes in their area or ministers will impose plans upon them, it has been warned.
Sir Keir says the plan will “put builders, not blockers first” and ” overhaul the broken planning system.”
But Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Kevin Hollinrake, has warned that Labour’s plans will fail due to defective EU laws.
Labour want to build 1.5million homes this Parliament. (Image: Getty)
He told the Daily Express: ‘Wherever Labour have been in power, they consistently fail to deliver on housebuilding. This will be no different as they have already cut targets in London and refuse to repeal defective EU laws holding up tens of thousands of homes across the country.
“The Conservatives delivered over a million homes in the last Parliament, but it is vital that even more are built in the right places with the right infrastructure.
“Labour will bulldoze through the concerns of local communities. If Labour really want homes to be built where they are needed, they must think again.”
Legacy EU laws on nutrient neutrality have blocked the building of new homes in recent years.
The laws mean that builders have to prove that new developments will not increase levels of certain chemicals in rivers that are nearby.
Rayner says her housing targets are achievable. (Image: Getty)
When the Conservatives were in Government, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tried to remove the red tape but Labour thwarted his efforts in the House of Lords.
Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, is looking to remove the environmental regulations having accused Michael Gove of being “reckless” when he had tried to do so.
The Government announced last month that it will unlock 28,000 new homes with £47 million funding.
The Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund will create schemes to build homes while protecting the surrounding environment sustainably.
Labour’s housing targets have also attracted scrutiny given that the 1.5 million figure would mean 2.5 homes would have to be built every minute.
Ms Rayner told Sky News that her housing targets are “achievable.”
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