Greens build new homes, Labour stalls

Contrary to claims that the Green Party isn’t building enough new homes, councils they control are completing more houses than others.

Despite claims that Greens are NIMBYs on housing, local authorities where the Green Party holds a majority build a lot more housing than any other. https://t.co/e40qRRHH9p pic.twitter.com/2yuMGVNCZH

— cez (@cezthesocialist) November 18, 2025

Even in councils where they don’t hold the majority, the Greens come out second only to the SNP.

When combining majorities and pluralities into a single figure, the SNP comes out on top but the Green Party is still second, ahead of Labour and the Tories. pic.twitter.com/2Tgn9jtu5Y

— cez (@cezthesocialist) November 18, 2025

Only recently, the Forest of Dean District Council, where the Green Party holds a minority position, 12,000 new homes have been approved. Some will be built in completely new towns and villages.

the green party has CONSISTENTLY argued that building more affordable accommodation is a big part of the solution to the current affordability crisis. and when they’re in power, they’re actually getting it built!

vote green 💚 https://t.co/9vP02Ra7or

— babey 🏳️‍⚧️ (@edenbound_) November 18, 2025

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Green Party members support the nationwide effort to build a record number of new homes.

Only 53% of the general public agreed with this view, compared to 66% of Green party members.

In contrast, just 35% of the public felt the same about their own constituency.

the green party has CONSISTENTLY argued that building more affordable accommodation is a big part of the solution to the current affordability crisis. and when they’re in power, they’re actually getting it built!

vote green 💚 https://t.co/9vP02Ra7or

— babey 🏳️‍⚧️ (@edenbound_) November 18, 2025

Green housing

The Green Party has centred its housing policy on ‘providing fairer, greener homes for all’.

The Greens would:

• Require local authorities to spread small developments across their areas.
• Require all new developments to be accompanied by the extra investment needed in local health, transport and other services.
• Ensure that all new homes meet Passivhaus or equivalent standards and house builders include solar panels and heat pumps on all new homes, where appropriate.

It also states that our energy bills are too high because the UK has the most poorly insulated houses in Europe.

The Greens would push for a street-by-street, local-authority-led retrofit programme to insulate homes.

They would also provide clean heat and start adapting buildings to more extreme climate conditions. This would mean investments of:

• £29bn over the next five years to insulate homes to an EPC B standard or above as part of a ten-year programme.
• £4bn over the next five years to insulate other buildings to a high standard
• £9bn over the next five years for low-carbon heating systems (e.g. heat pumps) for homes and other buildings

The party also pledges to provide 150,000 new social homes every year through:

• New build and the purchase/refurbishment of older housing stock.
• A community right to buy for local authorities for several categories of property.
• Ending the individual ‘right to buy’, to keep social homes for local communities in perpetuity.

It also recognises that millions of private renters face unaffordable rents and constant insecurity.

Green MPs would are also pushing for similar reforms seen in the Renters’ Rights Bill, promising:

• Rent controls so local authorities can control rents if the rental market is unaffordable for many local people.
• A new stable rental tenancy and an end to no-fault evictions so tenants are secure in their homes
• A tenants’ right to demand energy efficiency improvements.
• Private residential tenancy boards to provide an informal, cheap and speedy forum for resolving disputes before they reach a tribunal.

Genuinely affordable homes

The Greens also support ending the Right to Buy scheme, now resulting in some councils losing £200k per house they are buying back, due to the growing shortage of council housing.

Meanwhile, Labour continues slashing affordable housing targets in London, limiting the supply of affordable homes.

At the same time, the government appears committed to boosting housing numbers, with Housing Secretary Steve Reed scrapping the ability of local authorities to block planning permission for developments of over 150 houses.

Now, the Housing Secretary himself will be the person who can give the go-ahead for large developments.

Still, it’s anyone’s guess how many will be snatched up and rended at unaffordable rates by large property management companies.

However, the Green Party seems genuinely committed to affordable homes for all. Its 2024 election manifesto stated:

Building thousands of unaffordable homes isn’t the answer though – the priority should be providing everybody with a safe, warm affordable home. This means genuinely affordable homes, built to the right standards and in the right place, as part of flourishing communities. It means that we need to make sure all homes are fit for a climate-changed world. And it means protecting the rights of the millions of people who rent their homes.

The way Labour is going, we’ll have 1.5m new homes by 2029. Without radical action, most will remain unaffordable and sit empty.

Hope hasn’t completely faded.

The promise of a better future is real for those of us who have experienced homelessness, are on council waiting lists, would one day like their own home, or simply believe that everyone deserves a warm, safe place to live.

Feature image via Robin Webster/Wikimedia Commons