UK PM Rishi Sunak pulls vote on key housing reform bill as Tory MPs threaten rebellion
As the UK grapples with recession, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is staring at the first major rebellion of his premiership. At least 50 Conservative (Tory) members of parliament have opposed his government’s housebuilding reforms that lay the groundwork for affordable homes.
Sunak was due to face the first major test of his leadership next Monday when MPs were set to vote on the flagship Levelling Up Bill and Regeneration Bill, which, among others things, stipulates mandatory, centrally-set targets to build 300,000 homes a year.
However, according to media reports, over 40 rebel Tory MPs led by former cabinet minister Theresa Villiers signed an amendment to scrap mandatory local housing targets and make them advisory only.
That left Sunak — who has a working majority of 69 — facing defeat if Labour and other opposition parties decided to back the Tory rebels.
In the face of the rebellion from his fellow Conservative (Tory) party lawmakers, Sunak has pulled the vote and opted to delay the long-awaited planning reforms.
The government line on the deferment of the vote was “a congested parliamentary timetable” which would not have allowed lengthy debates on the controversial piece of legislation.
Tory MP Theresa Villiers, who laid the amendment, claimed the bill sets “top-down excessive targets” would encourage “development which damages the environment and quality of life”, the Telegraph reported.
In a similar vein, her supporters insist that they do not want to stop housebuilding, only give communities more say over where homes are built.
Sunak’s climbdown has been met with derision from Opposition parties, who said the real reason for the “shambles” was that the prime minister was “scared” of his own party MPs.
“The government cannot govern, the levelling up agenda is collapsing and the housing market is broken. Pulling flagship legislation because you’re running scared of your own backbenchers is no way to govern,” said Labour party MP Lisa Nandy, as quoted by The Guardian.
But Sunak has not completely backed down. Citing a government official, Bloomberg reported that Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove will continue to engage with MPs over the coming weeks to build consensus over the housebuilding reforms and hold a vote before Christmas.
Housing is a fractious issue in Britain. It has long been a key Conservative manifesto commitment and successive governments have promised to build 300,000 more homes a year by the mid-2020s. However, chronic housing shortage remains one of the biggest challenges the country faces, and with the current cost of living crisis, the problem has been exacerbated.
