Perhaps changing the way we get things done needs new leadership

EDITOR’S COMMENT When it comes to politics, I try to keep my head down and, from an EG perspective, we of course strive to be apolitical. But there’s no denying that for real estate the past couple of weeks have shown a clear difference on the built environment and the business community between the country’s two main political parties. When Rishi Sunak announced plans to roll back on key green initiatives last month, the industry reacted with condemnation, saying his decision sent all the wrong signals and that diluting the UK’s commitment to net zero was not the way to rebuild our economy. And this week, the UK Green Building Council, with some 113 signatories, sent an open letter to the prime minister calling on him to restore confidence in greening our homes and buildings. The UKGBC and businesses across the industry share a “serious concern” about plans to weaken green policies, labelling them a “blow to green investment and sustainable businesses”. Signatories include some of the most influential names in the built environment sector: Laing O’Rourke Construction, BNP Paribas Real Estate, Landsec, BAM, Buro Happold, Grosvenor, Avison Young, GPE, Knight Frank, Aecom, Clarion and CBRE. In the letter, UKGBC deputy chief executive Simon McWhirter writes: “It is beyond disappointing and simply reckless to see this false narrative from government that delaying climate action would reduce costs to households. “Delaying policies just means they will have to be implemented much faster later, pushing up the cost for everyone – householders and businesses alike. As a sector and as a country, what we need from government now is certainty, predictability and clarity in the drive towards a net zero and ecologically sound future.” Then there was that HS2 announcement. The scrapping of the leg from Birmingham to Manchester. An announcement so unexpected that Tory mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street called it “cancelling the future” and said the decision led him to ponder quitting the party. He didn’t, but the thought was there. The sector responded with outrage too, with some calling for a judicial review of the proposals. Tim Heatley, co-founder of Capital & Centric, told us: “The decision will really hurt not only Manchester, but the North. More and more people are setting up businesses and building a life in the North as London overheats, so putting the city on a sideline can’t be the answer.” Landsec boss Mark Allan said the decision would impact the perception of the UK as a place to invest. “It is now very difficult for any investor – domestic or international – to have confidence in our ability to deliver what we say we are going to deliver,” he said. “If we want to boost investment into the economy, spread growth around the country and deliver a better quality of life for people living and working around the UK, we need to change the way we get things done.” And perhaps changing the way we get things done comes with a change of leadership, as fast-forward to this week’s Labour Party conference and the tone has been completely different. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves kicked off the courting of the sector with the promise to overhaul the planning system (again), “hard-wiring” net zero commitments, bringing hundreds of new planning professionals into the sector, and ensuring the Nimbys out there are offered a sweetener to allow us to build in their backyards. Then came Sir Keir Starmer and his promise of 1.5m homes, the development of new towns and the unlocking of brownfield land for development. None of these are promises that we haven’t heard before, of course, but they do seem to be resonating with our community. “The fact that the new housebuilding proposals are regarded as sufficiently integral to election policy to have been split across the two keynote speeches appears a clear statement of intent,” said Urban&Civic chief executive Nigel Hugill. Grosvenor UK boss James Raynor said Starmer’s big promises “chimed” with what it was hoping to achieve. The party conferences are always something of a circus. Big promises are made. Fighting talk is strong. But, with a general election around the corner and a big opportunity for real estate to perhaps finally have its voice heard, has one party opened the door while the other has pulled it to? To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@eg.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @EGPropertyNews