Industry builders merchant demands commitment to construction

October 15, 2024

With the first Labour Budget in 14 years due to be delivered in just two weeks, Allan Wright, MD at Civils & Lintels, is calling on the Chancellor to announce tangible moves to bolster the construction and housebuilding sectors.

Commenting after the government’s industrial strategy was published with construction apparently not part of the plan, Wright fears that that momentum has already been lost following early indications that the sector would be central to Labour’s plans for growth.

He said: “Construction is absolutely at the heart of the UK’s economy so it was encouraging following Labour’s election win in July that so much focus was placed on the housebuilding, civils and infrastructure sectors. However, I said then that it was imperative that they act quickly on those election pledges, and whilst housebuilding, infrastructure projects and the planning system all commanded significant initial attention, it currently feels that any initial momentum established may have been lost. It wasn’t even mentioned in the industrial strategy published earlier this week.

“Rachel Reeves’ first budget as Chancellor on October 30^th is, therefore, an excellent opportunity to address these areas and potential options which I’d urge her to consider include, permanent reform to SDLT, the reintroduction of some form of assisted purchase for private home ownership similar to Help to Buy, a significant commitment to invest in the delivery of new rental stock and demonstrable investment in UK infrastructure. These would all contribute significantly to the construction and housebuilding sectors, yet the detail continues to be scant in this respect. We are also still waiting for clarity on when promises such as reform to the planning sector can be expected and this must absolutely be a priority. For all these reasons, I will be watching intensely on Wednesday 30^th in the hope the rhetoric transfers into clear actions that help both the construction sector and UK plc!”

Read more news and exclusive features in our latest issue here.