Emma Reynolds MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to this morning’s house building statistics which show a fall in the number of homes built over the last 12 months, said:

“This is yet more evidence of the Government’s failure to build the homes the country needs and failing to act on the cost-of-living crisis. With the market beginning to recover, today’s increase in housing starts is welcome but the number of homes built over the past year is down five per cent compared with the year before.

“It also remains the fact that under David Cameron the number of homes built has slumped to the lowest level in peacetime since the 1920s.

“We need to build many more homes to keep up with demand. Owning a home is out of reach of many low and middle-income earners, and rents are rising faster than wages.

“Labour will tackle the housing crisis and increase house building to at least 200,000 a year by 2020.”​