United Kingdom

UK: Labour Announces Plan to Build 12 New Towns in England

Published SEP 29 2025

Story

Above: Housing Secretary Steve Reed addresses the Labour Party conference on Sept. 28, 2025. Image credit: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

The Facts

U.K. Housing Secretary Steve Reed announced plans on Sunday for 12 new towns across England at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, with the construction of at least three to begin before the next general election.
Labour
The New Towns Taskforce, chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, recommended 12 locations, pitching a combination of new standalone towns and expanded towns and cities. The government promised to establish a New Towns Unit to coordinate the developments.
GOV.UK
GOV.UK
According to Reed, the three most promising proposals are for a standalone development in Tempsford, Bedfordshire, a new town in Crews Hill near Enfield in north London, and another in Leeds South Bank, for an approximate combined total of over 74,000 houses.
Labour
GOV.UK
The recommendations designate that each development will have at least 10,000 homes, with a minimum of 40% affordable housing, of which 20% will be social housing. The task force estimates that the plan will provide a total of up to 300,000 homes.
GOV.UK
Before building efforts begin, the government has pledged to conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment at each site to “understand the environmental implications of developing new towns,” which will influence any final decisions.
GOV.UK
Reed also used his address to pay tribute to the former housing secretary Angela Rayner, whom he described as a “true working-class hero.” Reed replaced Rayner following her resignation over a stamp duty scandal concerning a property in Hove.
Daily Mail
Guardian
Labour

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The Spin

Pro-government narrative

The government’s pledge to build 12 new towns across England and begin construction of at least three during this Parliament demonstrates its commitment to fixing Britain’s broken housing market. Just as the Attlee government did after the war, Labour will once again develop communities fit for the British people, with the finest housing, facilities, and unionized employment.

Labour

GOV.UK

Government-critical narrative

For all the bravado on display at the Labour conference, this government lacks the courage to tackle the fundamentals behind the housing crisis, the U.K.’s planning laws. As long as the same stifling regulations and bureaucracies remain, Labour’s latest gimmick will inevitably fail, just like the government’s pledge to build 1.5 million houses by the next election.