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What does the general election mean for the construction industry?

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With Polling Day just over a week away, each of the major political parties in the UK have released their manifestos for the 2024 election, offering a range of policies and promises aimed at addressing the country’s pressing issues.

This election comes after a tumultuous period marked by 14 years of Conservative governance, during which the UK saw five different Prime Ministers, navigated two recessions, and completed the Brexit process.

The political landscape has significantly shifted, and current predictions indicate a potential electoral upheaval. According to Electoral Calculus, the Conservatives could face a dramatic loss of nearly 300 seats, paving the way for Labour to potentially secure a landslide victory larger than that achieved by Tony Blair in the 1997 election.

This anticipated shift in power could bring substantial changes to various sectors, including construction, as each party outlines their plans and priorities in their manifestos.

The policies presented in these manifestos offer insights into how the next government might tackle issues related to housing, infrastructure, energy, and the economy, which are all critical to the construction industry and the wider public.

Here is a summary of the main points related to construction from the manifestos of the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party for the 2024 election:

Conservatives:

Housing:

  • Aim to build 1.6 million homes in England through the next Parliament.
  • Introduction of a “new and improved” Help to Buy scheme.
  • Implementation of a Renters Reform Bill, including the abolition of Section 21 evictions.
  • Fast-tracking brownfield residential developments in cities.
  • Abolition of nutrient neutrality.
  • Making the 2022 Stamp Duty threshold permanent.

Infrastructure:

  • Invest £8.3 billion to fill potholes and resurface roads.
  • Commit £12 billion to Northern Powerhouse rail work between Liverpool and Manchester.

Energy:

  • Deliver net zero by 2050.
  • Annual licensing rounds for oil and gas production in the North Sea.
  • Scale up nuclear power, with new fleets of Small Modular Reactors and establishing Great British Nuclear.
  • Invest £1.1 billion into the Green Industries Growth Accelerator.
  • Moratorium on fracking to continue.

Economy:

  • Promise to cut taxes by £17.2 billion by 2030.
  • Abolish the main rate of National Insurance entirely by the next Parliament.
  • No raise of corporation tax.
  • Creating a business rates support package worth £4.3 billion over the next five years to support small businesses.

Labour:

Housing:

  • Deliver 1.5 million new homes in England over the next five years.
  • Immediately update the National Policy Planning Framework to restore mandatory housing targets.
  • Fast-track approval of urban brownfield sites and prioritize lower quality ‘grey belt’ land.
  • Implement solutions for homes affected by nutrient neutrality without weakening environmental protections.
  • Introduce a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time buyers.
  • Immediately abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.

Infrastructure:

  • Merge the NIC and IPA into a single infrastructure body, Nista.
  • Improve rail connectivity in the north of England, fix five million potholes over the next five years, and better prepare communities for extreme weather events.
  • Bring the railways into public ownership.

Energy:

  • Aim for clean energy by 2030, with net zero to follow.
  • Complete Hinkley Point C and increase the rollout of small modular reactors (SMR).
  • Ban fracking and issue no new coal licenses, but continue oil and gas operations in the North Sea.
  • Invest nearly £5 billion in gigafactories, carbon capture, and green hydrogen.
  • Implement a £6.6 billion Warm Homes Plan to install energy efficiency upgrades in 5 million homes to cut bills.

Economy:

  • Raise £8.5 billion a year from tax rises and cracking down on avoidance up to 2028/29.
  • Introduce “Securonomics” for sustainable growth.
  • Create a £7.3 billion National Wealth Fund to attract private investment in growth and clean energy.

Liberal Democrats:

Housing:

  • Increase the building of new homes to 380,000 a year across the UK, including 150,000 social homes a year.
  • Abolish residential leaseholds and cap ground rents to a nominal fee.
  • Immediately ban no-fault evictions, make three-year tenancies the default, and create a national register of licensed landlords.
  • Introduce ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ planning permission for developers who refuse to build.
  • Give local authorities the powers to end Right to Buy.

Infrastructure:

  • Increase rollout and support for electric vehicles.
  • Increase devolution to give local authorities power to upgrade local infrastructure.

Energy:

  • Implement a ten-year emergency upgrade programme to make homes warmer and cheaper to heat and ensure all new homes are zero-carbon.
  • Invest in renewable power so that 90% of the UK’s electricity is generated from renewables by 2030.
  • Upgrade the National Grid to meet growing energy demand.

Economy:

  • Protect the independence of the Bank of England and keep the inflation target of 2%.
  • Reverse the Conservatives’ tax cuts for big banks and impose a one-off windfall tax on the super-profits of oil and gas producers and traders.
  • Cut income tax (“when the public finances allow”) by raising the tax-free personal allowance.

Green Party:

Housing:

  • Build 150,000 new social homes every year.
  • End the individual ‘right to buy’ to keep social homes for local communities in perpetuity.
  • Introduce rent controls, a new stable rental tenancy, and end no-fault evictions.
  • Ensure all new homes meet Passivhaus or equivalent standards, and include solar panels and heat pumps on all new homes where appropriate.

Infrastructure:

  • Require all new developments to be accompanied by extra investment needed in local health, transport, and other services.

Energy:

  • Phase out nuclear energy and stop all new fossil fuel extraction projects in the UK.
  • Remove all oil and gas subsidies.
  • Introduce a carbon tax on all fossil fuel imports and domestic extraction.
  • Ensure wind energy provides around 70% of the UK’s electricity by 2030.
  • Invest in energy storage capacity and more efficient electricity distribution.

Economy:

  • Invest £40 billion per year to deliver the shift to a green economy over the course of the next Parliament.

These points highlight each party’s stance on key construction-related issues, reflecting their broader political and economic philosophies.

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