While Labour dilly dally, Tories have built a housing fix

WHEN Conservative YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) officially launched in May, we promised unapologetic action on housing without fear or favour.

- Sir Simon Clarke

Within weeks, our Eight Quick Fixes to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill proposal was making headlines and driving Parliamentary debate. And following our summer party last month — a buzzing evening of energy and ambition — we launched our latest major intervention: the Conservative YIMBY London Plan.

This is no abstract theory. It’s a set of bold, practical policies designed to cut through the red tape strangling our cities and allow more house building. We propose scrapping late-stage viability reviews that delay schemes and punish ambition. Developers who deliver affordable housing early should be fast tracked, not penalised.

We argue that if a developer exceeds targets with high-quality housing, they should earn automatic bonuses in height and density — not be tied up in even more bureaucracy.

PLANNING decisions must be timely and rules must have teeth: where local councils block schemes that meet their own policies, applicants should be able to appeal directly to the Mayor of London or Secretary of State to secure automatic permission.