Labour’s programme for its upcoming conference is highly revealing of its housing priorities and suggests it may be going into panic mode over the building of 1.5 million new homes.

Housing was a core part of its election manifesto as one of its five “national missions” alongside economic growth and NHS reform. Labour, though, has been heavily criticised for its poor delivery on its promises and has slumped in the polls.

In an attempt to find ways of boosting its performance in the sector, Labour’s Housing Group will be launching its first-ever ‘Housing Zone’ at the party’s conference. The vast majority of its sessions will be dominated by issues around its 1.5 million homes target.

Six Sessions for new homes

The sessions appear to be all about delivery rather than any major new initiatives, and many feature questions such as “how can” about delivery mechanisms.

The six sessions that are focused on the 1.5million homes target include such topics as skills shortages, local delivery, New Towns development and net zero.

RRB low priority

In contrast, the Renters’ Rights Bill gets just one session, as it appears to have now dropped down the priority list as it gets ever closer to becoming law.

Second homes and short let council tax rises, though, are currently under scrutiny and have their own dedicated session. Many of the speakers are from areas that have championed the tax rises, such as North Yorkshire and Truro and Falmouth.

Leasehold reform is another area that Labour has allocated a session to. Improving conditions in social housing, though, gets two sessions and comes after local authorities have been heavily criticised by many in the housing industry, including the Housing Ombudsman, for their double standards.

The majority of the conference attendees will be Labour Party members, housing professionals, and local authority representatives, but will include a number of controversial figures.

Andy Burnham role

Ben Twomey from Generation Rent will chair the renters’ rights session despite heavily criticising Labour’s approach. Deputy Mayor Mete Coban, who leads the net zero discussion despite recent controversy over fabricating his football career. And, perhaps most significantly, Andy Burnham – the potential replacement for Keir Starmer – has been given a prominent role.

The Conference takes place on 28 September – 1 October in Liverpool.

You can see the full programme here.