Nigel Farage’s six-word warning over Labour housing target

Nigel Farage has issued a warning after the Government announced its housing plans earlier today.

The strategy includes delivery targets for the number of new homes per year in each local authority area of England. The goal for the total number of new homes per year in the country as a whole has been set at 370,408.

Many of these will be outside cities. The plan has been denounced by the Conservatives as a “war on rural England”.

Now, the Reform UK leader has listed his concerns – and has warned that people’s quality of life will be directly impacted.

Speaking on GB News, Mr Farage said he feared there will not be enough local infrastructure to accompany the new houses.

He also hinted that the new homes could fill gaps in between England’s villages.

Mr Farage said: “Well, in common with the last government, there is a target to build one and a half million homes during the lifetime of this parliament. It’s just that Labour seem to be rather more determined to do it because they are quite prepared to totally override local district, county councils, local unitary authorities.

“They are just going to do it, and this includes redefinitions of what counts as Green Belt land, some of it potentially being designated as being grey belt.

“Now, if this comes to disused garages or empty car parks or vacant pubs, well, you might say that all makes sense. But there will be, especially across the home counties, real genuine worry about what it means for green spaces, about what it means for gaps in between villages.

“And by the way, when all these houses get built, there will be no more GPs, no more school places, no more roads. No, your quality of life, your quality of life will diminish directly as a result of this.

“Now, whether they can actually meet the target, I very much doubt, without importing huge amounts of foreign labour, which, of course, in turn, will mean even more demand the houses. Right now, we have to provide one new home every two minutes just to keep pace with levels of immigration in this country.

“So the truth of it is, we must build over Green Belt land all over our nation, just to house those that have come into this country in the course of the last 10 years. However, we have a serious housing shortage. What are we to do?”

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, said duiring a visit to Cambridge earlier today: “For years, we have had not enough houses being built. That means that individuals and families don’t have the security that they want.”

He added: “We are determined to break through that, to do what’s necessary. Of course we want to get the balance right with nature and the environment, but if it comes to a human being wanting to have a house for them and their family, that has to be the top priority.”