It’s time for radical thinking to deliver the new homes that the UK needs

History shows what’s possible with political will, whatever your political persuasion. After World War II, Clement Attlee’s ‘New Jerusalem’ started a new era of social housing. This was followed by the development of new and expanded towns in the 1960s and 1970s, which reshaped communities across the country. In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher’s Right to Buy radically increased homeownership. More recently, the 2012 Olympic Village project demonstrated how such ambition can result in delivery. Today, housing is once again at the heart of government pledges, and now a bold vision must be matched by bold action.

So how can we take bold action today that will help solve the housing crisis in a sustainable way? It will rely on innovative funding and partnerships to turn plans into new homes that transform lives. If the government were to designate housing as critical national infrastructure (CNI), it would transform its investment profile. When data centres were designated CNI in 2024, they received over £25bn of investment in just three months. If digital infrastructure is critical to society, housing is even more so and deserves the same recognition. With its stable cashflow, it’s arguably even more attractive to investors than data centres.

Right to Buy also needs a rethink. While ambition to own a home is something we should all support and encourage, it makes no sense to sell off existing social housing units given the scale of waiting lists – which are at their highest level in London for over a decade, with some boroughs in the capital having a waiting list of over a century for a family-sized social home. I argued that it would make far more sense to help those tenants to buy in the private market, so that their social housing could be retained for others in housing need.

In a mixed economy, no critical national infrastructure can exist in isolation, and partnerships will be key to success – as they have been in the past. Our partnership with Vistry in Clapham Park is transforming a 1,968-home estate into a 4,203-home community, with all existing social homes being rebuilt or refurbished, and this scheme worked because it had widespread support from residents.

“While ambition to own a home is something we should all support and encourage, it makes no sense to sell off existing social housing units given the scale of waiting lists”

To boost investment, we should expand the use of social impact bonds, which reward investors when predefined social outcomes are met. These have helped to tackle homelessness and could now support affordable housing delivery. Flexible government guarantees could also reduce borrowing costs and increase capacity. Their designation as contingent liabilities would prevent them from being added to the national debt.

A co-ordinated funding strategy from public institutions such as Homes England, the Greater London Authority, the National Housing Bank and the National Wealth fund would really benefit housebuilding, to form a layered, strategic ecosystem to tackle different market failures, maximising the impact of existing resources and ensuring housing benefits from infrastructure-level investment.

The government should also consider accelerating the Mansion House Accord. UK pension funds represent a substantial, largely untapped source of long-term, inflation-linked capital. The accord, which is an agreement between government and major pension providers to invest in UK growth assets, could unlock up to £50bn in funding if implementation were faster.

We must not lose sight of the scale of housebuilding we need. The housing crisis is an emergency, and we are part of a national endeavour – bigger than ourselves – and ready to step up. The least-heard voices are those without a home. We must act with urgency, be accountable and deliver. We’ve done it before. Now, with a radical vision, strong partnerships and political will, we can build a housing future worthy of the next generation.

Mel Barrett, chief executive, Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing