Thank you to all the constituents who have contacted me about the housing crisis.

You’re absolutely right to say that the only way to fix the housing crisis is not just to build a lot more houses, but to build the right kinds of genuinely affordable homes that meet people’s needs. That’s why it’s so unforgiveable that Rishi Sunak has caved in to his backbenchers and scrapped national affordable housebuilding targets.

The consequence of his weakness as a Prime Minister is that housebuilding is now set to fall to its lowest level since World War II, with a £17bn cost to the UK economy and a frankly unmeasurable cost to the millions of people up and down the country stuck on a social housing waiting list, trapped in extortionate and inadequate rental accommodation, or living at home with their parents long after they would want to find a place of their own.

That’s why a Labour Government would reinstate affordable housebuilding targets, with Keir Starmer rightly committing to take on housing speculators, land bankers, and those people unreasonably blocking new developments in their area.

And we’d also go further still, with Labour making clear that we would adopt a completely new approach to housebuilding that will put social and genuinely affordable housing at the heart of our plans. This national mission will be underpinned by our target to have social housing overtake the private rented sector to become the second-largest form of housing tenure after outright ownership.

That’s the kind of bold action we need to fix the housing emergency, not more neglect and indifference from the Tories. Please know I will always stand up for high-quality and affordable housing for all.