Susanna Siddell
Guest Reporter
A desperate shortage of British builders has risked leaving the country “hooked on high migration” as the deficiency of workers has caused a conundrum for Labour’s mission to build 1.5million homes by 2029.
Last week, Keir Starmer committed his Government to the ambitious goal in a drive to provide families the “security” of their own home - a target which means building 900 houses per day until the next General Election.
However, politicians - as well as industry experts - have warned that Britain's serious deficit of builders is due to the country’s failure to train Britons in the industry, leaving the nation reliant on workers from abroad.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for the end of this “madness” of employing bricklayers from overseas, emphasising that the nation’s housing crisis is down to high levels of migration.
Meanwhile, shadow home secretary Chris Philp has said Starmer’s Cabinet should “avoid reaching for high immigration to hit these construction targets”.
He said: “The British people overwhelmingly believe — and I agree — that immigration is far, far too high.
“Importing workers to build new homes will actually make the housing crisis worse as they have to live somewhere themselves.”
Despite housing minister Matthew Pennycook insisting that Labour would not rely on foreign workers, celebrity builder Ian Hodgkinson argued that foreign workers would be key to achieving the Government's goal.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
He said the pledge was “teetering on the edge of disaster” and, to prevent the housing crisis deteriorating further, the Government must take immediate action to solve the spiralling issue.
“Training new workers takes time — years, not months,” he told The Sun.
“Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on housing targets, and construction companies are struggling to keep up with demand. The maths simply doesn’t add up: fewer workers, more houses, and no realistic solution to bridge the gap.”
However, the celebrity builder warned that the UK also lacked sufficient supplies for Starmer’s pledge, as Britain will need six billion bricks, 20 million tons of concrete and five million tons of timber.
As it stands, the UK is estimated to build around one million new homes by 2029 but still requires 95,000 bricklayers, 37,000 carpenters and 15,000 plasterers to do so.
Additionally, Farage has insisted that an over-reliance on overseas workers could exacerbate migration levels to such an extent that it would hinder the chances of British people owning a home themselves.
“The big building companies are only too happy to pay for foreign labour from abroad,” he wrote in The Sun on Sunday.
“The reason is very simple indeed. They are just cheaper.
"But that means the immigration numbers go up, which means an even higher demand for housing. This takes us straight back to square one. This madness has got to end.”
Find Out More...
Last week, Keir Starmer committed his Government to the ambitious goal in a drive to provide families the “security” of their own home - a target which means building 900 houses per day until the next General Election.
However, politicians - as well as industry experts - have warned that Britain's serious deficit of builders is due to the country’s failure to train Britons in the industry, leaving the nation reliant on workers from abroad.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for the end of this “madness” of employing bricklayers from overseas, emphasising that the nation’s housing crisis is down to high levels of migration.
Meanwhile, shadow home secretary Chris Philp has said Starmer’s Cabinet should “avoid reaching for high immigration to hit these construction targets”.
He said: “The British people overwhelmingly believe — and I agree — that immigration is far, far too high.
“Importing workers to build new homes will actually make the housing crisis worse as they have to live somewhere themselves.”
Despite housing minister Matthew Pennycook insisting that Labour would not rely on foreign workers, celebrity builder Ian Hodgkinson argued that foreign workers would be key to achieving the Government's goal.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
- ‘Go and join the Lib Dems!’ Reform MP rules out mass Tory defections as new name emerges
- Victory over woke as new laws protecting free speech at universities set to be introduced
- Conservative frontbencher admits Tories need to unite with Farage’s Reform to fight Labour ‘damage’
He said the pledge was “teetering on the edge of disaster” and, to prevent the housing crisis deteriorating further, the Government must take immediate action to solve the spiralling issue.
“Training new workers takes time — years, not months,” he told The Sun.
“Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on housing targets, and construction companies are struggling to keep up with demand. The maths simply doesn’t add up: fewer workers, more houses, and no realistic solution to bridge the gap.”
However, the celebrity builder warned that the UK also lacked sufficient supplies for Starmer’s pledge, as Britain will need six billion bricks, 20 million tons of concrete and five million tons of timber.
As it stands, the UK is estimated to build around one million new homes by 2029 but still requires 95,000 bricklayers, 37,000 carpenters and 15,000 plasterers to do so.
Additionally, Farage has insisted that an over-reliance on overseas workers could exacerbate migration levels to such an extent that it would hinder the chances of British people owning a home themselves.
“The big building companies are only too happy to pay for foreign labour from abroad,” he wrote in The Sun on Sunday.
“The reason is very simple indeed. They are just cheaper.
"But that means the immigration numbers go up, which means an even higher demand for housing. This takes us straight back to square one. This madness has got to end.”
Find Out More...