It seems that the curse must continue as we’re treated to another UK Housing Minister. Steve Reed is the incumbent, coming in to take the place of Angela Rayner, who held the office from July 2024 to her stamp duty scandal resignation at the start of this September. Reed makes the 11th housing minister in ten years, providing as clear an indication as any of the turbulent nature of the last decade.
‘Build, baby, build’ is Reed’s ‘call to arms’ as he pledges to double down on ‘one of the biggest eras of building in our country’s history’. It remains to be seen how quickly the industry will respond to this pledge, which builds upon the metaphorical foundations (far too many of those kicking about!) laid by Rayner in her time in the position.
Momentum seems to have certainly taken a stumble after the past few months. One need only look at Glenigan’s September index and compare it to the August one to see a stark difference. Where the three months leading up to the end of July 2025 showed a 25% increase in residential work starting on-site compared with the same period in 2024, the three months to the end of August show a 16% fall in the same category compared to the same period in 2024. While Glenigan is right to chalk a lot of this up to ‘persistent international socioeconomic pressures and unpopular Government policies (that) erode investor and consumer confidence’, it shouldn’t be forgotten that this time last year was when this Labour Government was elected and came out the gate swinging with a host of pledges and plans for the UK housing industry. That sure-footed confidence has lost a lot of its potency in the past year thanks to the aforementioned global issues and domestic trouble, leaving a deeply unpopular government that seems to be making all the wrong moves.
It’s also worth noting that these disappointing figures are a balance to the nonresidential sector where some impressive growth was shown and regional performance, with London, the North East and the West Midlands all showing a weighty increase on previous months and compared with 2024. The trouble with all of this is it’s all such a mixed bag of uncertainty. Great growth immediately followed by a downturn, but simultaneously contradicted by smaller victories inside a decline. It all feels very much like the world at large at the moment; confusing and uncertain.
New housing minister Reed has pledged ‘we are backing builders all the way’ yet in the same day said, ‘I’m going to work in partnership with the developers but there will be sanctions if the building doesn’t go ahead at pace and at scale.’ There’s a distinct lack of trust with those in government that’s being seen as anti-business. Concerns are being voiced ahead of the Autumn Budget, as taxes are already affecting smaller businesses, who are keen to get building, instead of mega corporations that (like a lot of politicians across the spectrum) seem to find loophole after loophole to avoid paying their fair share.
If Reed is really keen on continuing the strong momentum seen earlier this year and Getting Britain Building, he may be better served tackling a proliferation in time-consuming regulations, cavernous skills crisis and struggling construction economy rather than threatening developers with the stick.
