'Nothing could be further from the truth': Labour housing minister issues apparent rebuke to Wes Streeting

Mr Streeting quit the Cabinet last week, with his resignation letter to the Prime Minister stating “where we need vision, we have a vacuum [and] where we need direction, we have drift”.

Speaking at the opening of the UK Real Estate and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds on Tuesday, Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook did not directly name Mr Streeting but made an apparent reference to the Health Secretary’s remarks as he said: “Over recent days, I’ve listened with some amusement to colleagues claim that we arrived in government underprepared and lacking clarity of vision and direction.

"When it comes to housing and planning, nothing could be further from the truth.

"We used every waking moment in opposition to develop a bold and comprehensive plan – one that over the past 22 and a half months has allowed us to undertake the most rapid, holistic and radical overhaul of the housing and planning system in decades.”

Labour’s manifesto promised to build 1.5 million homes by the next election in a bid to tackle the housing crisis.

But it is currently behind a target which requires around 300,000 homes to be built each year, with some 208,600 new dwellings were created in England in 2024/25, down 6 per cent from 221,409 in the previous 12 months.

Mr Pennycook admitted it is an “incredibly stretching target" but insisted the government’s housing strategy is on track, with changes to planning rules, proposals for the creation of new towns and hundreds of millions being spent on training new construction workers

He said: "This Labour government arrived in office with a bold and comprehensive plan to build the homes and infrastructure the country needs. We are faithfully executing that plan.

"It is beginning to bear fruit. And while the headwinds are undoubtedly growing stronger, we are going to stay the course and finish the job.

"Uninformed critics will no doubt decry my reference to stronger headwinds as an attempt to deflect blame for early falls in housing delivery that I can assure all of you were fully expected and anticipated in opposition.

“But everyone in this room will know that the very real challenges that the sector has experienced over recent years – rising interest rates, significant increases in building materials costs, and dampened buyer demand – have been exacerbated by the global turbulence of recent months.”

He told attendees: “We also appreciate that your present challenges follow a series of housing market downturns, the scars of which your cash reserves, supply chains and project pipelines still bear.

“Where compatible with our objectives as a government, we remain committed to doing everything we can to reduce development risks and associated transaction costs so that you can get on and build.

“But it is only together that we can successfully navigate these tumultuous times, working in partnership to create a housing system that is more resilient to economic shocks of the kind produced by the conflict in the Gulf.”