UK Party Conferences 2022

This year, RICS representatives attended both the Labour and Conservative Party Conferences. 

At the Labour Party Conference, there was a strong emphasis on climate change and the opportunities in terms of greater energy independence and growth from investment in green energy, with the party seeking to deliver a zero-carbon electricity system by 2030. There was a significant focus during several fringe events on the need for widespread retrofitting of the housing sector too. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer reiterated his party’s commitment to retrofit 19 million homes through the provision of £60 billion of funding over the course of a decade. 

On the issue of housing supply and quality, Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy stated that a future Labour government would restore social housing as the second largest form of tenure, and that she was committed to empowering private renters too through a new renters charter and a new decent homes standard.  In the non-domestic sector, Labour reiterated their promise to scrap business rates and replace them with a fairer system too.

At the Conservative Party Conference, RICS jointly hosted an event with the other joint institutes (CIOB, RIBA and RPTI) entitled ‘Levelling Up: Building Better?’, working in partnership with ConservativeHome which discussed issues around beauty, design and the environment in the context of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda. Gagan Mohindra MP and David Simmonds MP also joined that panel. 

In the Prime Minister’s speech to Conservative Conference, she stressed the need for more houses in the right places while the Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke reaffirmed the government’s commitment to Levelling Up in their bid to regenerate local areas, support high streets, and re-instil a sense of pride in place amongst local communities. 

The Secretary of State set out his vision that the Government’s recently announced Investment Zones would represent an important opportunity to boost housing, development and enterprise across the UK. The theme of building safety was mentioned too, with Simon Clarke reflecting on the importance of an operable insurance industry and a legacy from Grenfell which ensures safer homes and better standards for all.