Theresa May has attacked the proposed planning reform and called on the government to come up with an alternative.
The former prime minister and Maidenhead MP has lambasted the replacement housing algorithm used to set local authorities housing targets in a debate in the House of Commons.
“What the new algorithm does with regard to levelling up is fly in the face of the government’s flagship policy,” said May.
“My point is simple: these proposals do not deliver on government policies. The government needs to think again and come back to this house with a comprehensive proposal for a proper debate and – dare I say it? – a meaningful vote.”
May said the new system “does not guarantee the building of a single home” and “forces investment into London and the South”.
She joins a growing number of backbencher Tory MPs fighting back at the long-awaited planning white paper, which prime minister Boris Johnson has heralded as a “radical reform unlike anything we have seen since the Second World War”.
Her comments came at a debate secured by Bob Seely, Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight.
Seely said: “The government might as well be asking us to lead a moon-landing programme for all our ability to deliver either the current targets or the new ones. We are being set up for failure and, like other members, I find that difficult to accept.”
He said the new process would focus development in rural areas over cities, giving the example that while Nottinghamshire would require an extra 26,000 homes, the target for Nottingham would fall by 3,700.
Seely said the new algorithm, process and formula should not be introduced without a meaningful parliamentary vote.
He added that failure to develop the already consented homes raises two questions: “First, is the problem with the system, or with the building firms that are abusing it, maybe because of the foolish laws being put in place? Secondly, do we need to scrap the current system and potentially face the law of unintended consequences, or do we need to reform it?”
Seely added: “[The government] should stick to the levelling up agenda; if not, shire Tories will be furious and red wall Tories betrayed.”
To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette
