DEFRA Secretary of State helps tackle housing shortage
In an interview with The Times last week, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Steve Reed MP spoke about how the department plans to put economic growth at its heart and how planning plays a key role.
The environment secretary touched on campaigners against housebuilding and said they “should not expect the right to a planning veto”.
Reed accepted that “We need to allow people to influence how change happens, but collaboration isn’t the same as veto. It’s entirely legitimate for a democratically elected government to seek to implement the programme it was elected on. Politics is about negotiating for the common good. Those homes have to be built.”
He added, “All politics is local,”. “The things that motivate people most are what happens on their doorstep, in their own neighbourhood”, he says. “There’s going to be a negotiation, there will be compromises.” But, he repeated, “it won’t be a veto”.
On the topic of green belt Reed said, “We’ve been very clear about building on the grey belt,” and assured that “These are areas people wouldn’t recognise as green: disused car parks or petrol stations. And where new settlements are being built, we’ll look to make them as nature-friendly as possible.”
Traditionally, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been known for its protection of green spaces and cautious stance on development. However, Reed is determined to shift this narrative, and said he wants to change the reputation of the department from being seen as a “blocker” to becoming a “department of growth.”
Reed’s approach signals Labour’s intent to push forward with its housing agenda and deliver on promises of economic growth. Labour appears committed to its pro-housing stance, demonstrating a serious shift away from the Conservative “blocker” image towards a more growth focused approach.
Over the coming months, we could see the new environment secretary becoming a key member of Sir Keir Starmer’s inner circle, playing a crucial role in tackling the housing crisis in a government elected on a pledge to “get Britain building again.”
