- London faces the worst housebuilding crisis since the Second World War. Between 2021/22 and 2023/4, the other regions of England delivered 94% of their housing targets, while the capital managed only 36%. In 2024/25, only 4,170 homes started construction, even as the population grew by nearly 100,000.
- A new joint report from Onward and the Centre for Policy Studies argues that Reform and the Conservatives must make London the focus of their housing efforts
- The report shows that London is the region with the greatest housing need, and the greatest support for housing. Simply meeting existing housing targets would generate £15bn in economic activity and over £6bn a year in tax receipts
- The report identifies five categories of site capable of delivering hundreds of thousands of new homes, without touching the green belt
- It also features forewords from Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly and Reform’s London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham
The housing crisis is Britain’s defining domestic policy failure. And nowhere is it felt more acutely than in London. Which is why a new report published today by the Centre for Policy Studies and Onward sets out the most comprehensive programme yet for resolving it.
‘Fixing London Housing‘, authored by CPS Head of Housing Ben Hopkinson and Onward senior researcher Laurence Fredricks, argues that most of the necessary policy levers already exist within current legislation. What has been missing is the political will to use them.
The report is published with forewords from James Cleverly, Conservative Shadow Housing Secretary, and Laila Cunningham, Reform’s Mayoral candidate for London.
Cleverly argues that bold action on regeneration, brownfield sites and red tape is needed to deliver the homes the capital needs, and that ‘the decisions we make today will shape the opportunities available to future generation’. Cunningham warns that ‘a city as wealthy, dynamic and successful as London should never have had a housing crisis’ and that after decades of failure by successive governments and mayors, ‘the housing crisis was created by political decisions. It can be solved by political decisions’.
The report identifies five major categories of opportunity:
- Two new Development Corporations covering Southern Tower Hamlets and the Old Kent Road Bakerloo line extension corridor, while giving more powers to the existing Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation to maximise the development around its 11 Tube, Overground, and Elizabeth Line stops and future HS2 station.
- Estate regeneration, which is capable of delivering 500,000 additional homes by doubling density on London’s ageing post-war estates
- The release of 2,293 hectares of Strategic Industrial Land within walking distance of Tube, rail and tram stations
- Better use of public land through five-year asset management pipelines
- A strong presumption in favour of brownfield development embedded in the London Plan, combined with scrapping Biodiversity Net Gain requirements for London brownfield, raising environmental impact assessment screening thresholds, and extending full expensing to cover brownfield regeneration.
The report also explains how to expand the rights existing homeowners have over their properties, encourage better uses of London’s extremely large social housing stock, and scrapping burdensome regulation in both the London Plan and national policies.
The result is a clear plan which could be adopted by a future Conservative or Reform government in Westminster or Mayor of London, focused on delivering the houses the capital needs. The report also demonstrates that London is the region where the need for housing is most acute, local support for new building is strongest, and where centre-right parties face the lightest political headwinds.
With 1.85 million additional homes needed to resolve London’s housing shortage, and construction starts at their lowest level since the Second World War, the authors argue that the scale of the response must match the scale of the problem: the homes London needs can, and must, be made deliverable.
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, The Rt Hon. Sir James Cleverly MP said:
‘London became one of the world’s great cities because previous generations had the ambition and confidence to invest in its future. Today, that promise is under increasing strain as too many people, particularly younger Londoners and families, find the prospect of owning or renting a secure and affordable home further out of reach.
‘This report makes a compelling contribution to the debate about London’s future. It highlights the scale of the housing crisis facing the capital and sets out a bold vision for how we can support regeneration, unlock brownfield land, reduce barriers to development and deliver the homes needed to ensure London remains a city of opportunity, aspiration and growth for generations to come.’
Reform UK’s candidate for Mayor of London, Laila Cunningham, said:
‘London’s housing crisis was not an accident. It was the predictable result of political decisions made over decades by politicians who put bureaucracy, ideology and vested interests ahead of the people who actually live here. House prices have soared, rents have exploded, and an entire generation has been locked out of home ownership. If political decisions created this crisis, political decisions can solve it. My mission is simple: make London affordable again.’
Ben Hopkinson, Head of Housing and Infrastructure at the Centre for Policy Studies, and Laurence Fredricks, Senior Researcher at Onward, said:
‘London has by far the largest housing shortage in the country because successive Governments and the Mayor of London have made it increasingly unviable to build in the capital. There is a massive opportunity for future governments and mayors to let London build again by removing the burdens on building and expanding the number of sites that can be built on. Our report lays out how to fix London’s housing.’
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
- James Cleverly and Richard Tice will both be speaking at an event hosted by the Centre for Policy Studies and Onward to launch the paper tomorrow, Thursday 2 July. Press wishing to attend should contact Emma Revell at emma@cps.org.uk or 07931698246
- Ben Hopkinson is Head of Housing and Infrastructure at the Centre for Policy Studies, Laurence Fredricks is a Senior Researcher at Onward
- ‘Fixing London Housing’ is available here
- For more information or interview requests, please contact Melisa Tourt on 0739925110 and melisa@cps.org.uk
- The Centre for Policy Studies is one of the oldest and most influential think tanks in Westminster. With a focus on taxation, economic growth, housing, immigration, and energy abundance, its goal is to develop policies that widen enterprise, ownership and opportunity
- Onward’s mission is to develop bold and practical ideas to boost economic opportunity, build national resilience, and strengthen communities across all parts of the United Kingdom. They believe in an optimistic conservatism that is truly national – one that recognises the value of markets, supported by a streamlined state that is active not absent.
Date Added: Wednesday 1st July 2026
