The Conservatives have pledged to build ‘thousands’ of council houses over the course of the next Parliament if re-elected next month.
Former housing minister Brandon Lewis said on the BBC’s Sunday Politics programme that the new housing would be funded from the £1.4bn set aside for capital expenditure, announced in the Autumn Statement.
The number of houses to be built has not yet been confirmed.
Mr Lewis said that the number of houses would depend on negotiations between the new government and each council, and would vary depending upon their individual needs and the land they had available.
He added that the party would also be keen to work with the newly-elected metro mayors.
However, host Andrew Neil noted that a £1.4bn budget could only build 14,000 houses if each house was priced at £100,000 – a low estimate.
Labour’s housing plans were unveiled last week when its manifesto was leaked. The party has promised to build at least 500,000 council houses by the end of the next parliament.
Lib Dems have also pledged a new housing policy, with leader Tim Farron promising to build 300,000 homes a year over the next five years.
This article first appeared on themj.co.uk.
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