MPs and voters agree that there is a housing crisis – but they're split on how to solve it

Labour will have to tread carefully in its attempts to build 1.5 million homes while in power after a new poll shows a split between MPs and the public on tackling the housing crisis.

An Ipsos poll quizzed 100 MPs and 1,070 Brits on the state of housing across the country and found parliamentarians (97%) and the public (72%) both agreed that there is indeed a housing crisis.

There was also widespread acknowledgement that more social housing is needed with 41% of the public and 77% of MPs calling for homes to rent from housing associations or local authorities.

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But there was division over how to tackle a crisis that has seen house prices move out of reach for many and private rents soar to record highs.

A total of 91% of MPs quizzed in the poll agreed that we will not make housing more affordable without increasing the number of homes being built, compared to 48% of Brits.

Instead, the public called for quality over quantity with the poll’s respondents prioritising improving the design and quality of homes (48%) over ramping up the number of homes built (20%).

The poll will make interesting reading for the Labour frontbench, who have made ramping up housebuilding a central part of their strategy for sparking growth in the UK economy.

The government faces a challenge in building 1.5 million homes – housing secretary Angela Rayner said last month that the target was “achievable” but admitted it will only make “a dent” in the housing crisis.

Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK politics at Ipsos, said: “Our new MPs survey reveals a significant gap between MPs and the public on addressing the housing crisis in the UK. 

“While both groups agree on the existence of a national housing crisis and the importance of the government’s role, they differ in their views towards the trade-offs necessary to solve it.“

Labour has vowed to streamline the planning system to increase housebuilding. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in her landmark pro-growth speech last month that she was “shocked” at the speed of the planning system.

But there is further division on whether local views or housing needs should be prioritised.

A total of 55% of the public said the views of local councils and residents should come first even if it means fewer homes being built while 21% preferred building as many homes as possible.

MPs were split with 42% putting local communities first while 39% backed building more homes at any cost. 

In addition it was revealed that Labour MPs were more likely to point to the need for new homes while Tories emphasised the need for local input. Parliamentarians also disagreed on whether design and quality was more important than volume.

But there was no argument over who must fix the housing crisis. Both MPs (97%) and the public (68%) said government intervention was vital and disagreed that there isn’t much that Westminster leaders can do about UK housing problems.

“There are also signs that the party differences are stronger in the House of Commons than among the public at large, with Labour MPs tending to give bigger priority to the importance of building new homes over other considerations than Conservatives,” said Skinner. 

“This means that while the public is likely to support the principle behind Labour’s target to build many more new homes, the government will need to take care to show that it is listening to public concerns over quality, design, and local priorities too.”

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