Labour leader Ed Miliband has set out a 10-year vision for the country with house building and greener homes at its heart.
In his speech to the Labour Party conference in Manchester today, Miliband said he would make housing a top priority for capital investment in his Britain 2025 vision.
Miliband restated Labour’s commitment to delivering 200,000 homes per year by 2020, and pledged to double the number of first-time buyers getting on to the housing ladder to 400,000 a year.
He said: “The confidence and security that comes from having your own home is missing for so many people in Britain today; that most British of dreams, the dream of home ownership, has faded.
“We will stop the large developers sitting on land and we will back the thousands of small developers and construction companies with access to new loans, there will be new towns, garden cities and suburbs with a half a million new homes.
“Housing will be a top priority in our capital investment programme - this party will get Britain building again.”
Housing was one of Labour’s six national goals alongside building a greener economy, boosting apprenticeships, a better minimum wage, plans to transfer more power out of Whitehall to the regions and strengthening the NHS.
Labour would strengthen the Green Investment Bank so it can invest in the technologies and industries and get at least five million homes upgraded over 10 years, saving the average household £273 a year.
If elected to government Labour would provide “one million interest free loans in the next parliament” to improve the energy efficiency of homes and would use “every penny” of the ECO to retrofit 200,000 homes for those on low incomes.
Miliband also set out plans to boost apprenticeships for industry, setting a national goal to get as many people leaving school for apprenticeships as university.
Mike Leonard, CEO of the Modern Masonry Alliance and spokesman for the "Get Britain Building" campaign said: "Ed Mliband has today backed our call to Get Britain Building again.
"Our 2020 Delivery Plan sets out the things we will need to do to deliver the jobs, growth and more homes built to last 150 years. More capital to support a significant increase in social homes and the procurement of locally produced brick and block installed by skilled local workers is critical if we are to maximise the full economic benefit is simply common sense .
"We stand ready and willing to help the next Government deliver at least 200,000 homes per annum by 2020."
