Rayner: 'Affordable homes number one focus for Labour'

Deputy leader and Ashton MP reveals election pledges

- JOSEPH TIMAN

DEPUTY Labour leader Angela Rayner has said her "number one focus" in government would be to unlock more affordable homes with a plan to get tough on developers. The party has pledged to give local authorities greater powers to negotiate with property firms and build in the areas they need as it sets out its stall on housing ahead of its conference in Liverpool.

The Ashton-under-Lyne MP, who is also shadow housing secretary, declined to give a specific number when asked what Labour's housebuilding target is, saying it must first "unlock the blockages" in the current system. But she said the party was focused on exceeding the unmet Tory pledge of 300,000 new homes a year, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "That's what my priority is.