Ed Balls MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to extracts from George Osborne’s Mansion House speech, said:

“George Osborne is still failing to tackle the root cause of the housing crisis which is that we are not building enough homes to match rising demand.

"Over the last few years Labour has repeatedly called for action on housing supply, but the Chancellor has failed to act. Under this government housebuilding has reached the lowest peacetime levels since the 1920s.

"The fact that George Osborne is consulting on new powers for the FPC, just a few weeks after he set out its remit, shows how behind the curve the Chancellor has been all along.

"And the danger of the Chancellor’s failure to act on housing supply is that we see a premature rise in interest rates to rein in the housing market which ends up hitting millions of families and businesses.

"You can’t deal with the cost-of-living crisis and create a strong and balanced recovery without building more homes. That’s why Labour has committed to getting at least 200,000 new homes built a year. And we should introduce a Help to Build scheme for small and medium-sized builders alongside a reformed Help to Buy.”