Property Sector Leaders React to Andy Burnham's Move to No 10

Industry Welcomes New Prime Minister with Cautious Optimism

Andy Burnham's appointment as UK Prime Minister on Monday has prompted a flurry of responses from property sector leaders, who are largely welcoming his elevation whilst flagging the significant challenges ahead for housing delivery.

The former Manchester mayor takes office with housing placed firmly at the top of his agenda. His track record managing the Manchester conurbation – including the delivery of the Good Growth Fund – has created expectations that he may bring regional focus and devolution to national housing policy. However, industry figures are urging clarity on exactly how his government intends to tackle the nation's housing crisis.

Housing Supply Ambitions Face Fiscal Reality

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, welcomed Burnham to Downing Street and highlighted the scale of the task ahead. The government has committed to delivering 1.5 million homes across England, but Emerson stressed that a sustainable mix of housing must be achieved with robust local infrastructure and regional focus.

Ryan Etchells, chief commercial officer at specialist mortgage lender Together, struck a more cautious note. He warned that whilst the new Labour government has signalled a willingness to spend for growth, it has "very little fiscal headroom to play with". Rising tax pressures are already making many developments unviable, he said, and without urgent action to support housebuilders and deliver on ambitious council housing commitments, growth risks stalling.

Tony Aitken, head of planning at Colliers, highlighted the importance of the delayed National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) update, signalling that clear national planning policies will be essential to achieve Burnham's stated ambition of building record levels of affordable council housing. Significantly, such delivery will require substantial public funding to ensure developments are viable and have necessary infrastructure in place from the outset.

Stamp Duty Reform and Market Confidence

Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops, emphasised that whilst building new homes is essential, the market also depends on helping existing homes circulate more freely. Research from the agency suggests that removing stamp duty costs could bring more than 300,000 owner-occupied homes onto the market across England within less than a year.

Leeming called on the government to combine a clear commitment to housebuilding with stable economic management and "a serious review of the upfront costs that continue to hold back buyers and sellers".

Initial proposals being floated include a new land tax to replace council tax and stamp duty – a potentially transformative change for property taxation. However, as Andrew Lloyd, managing director at proptech firm Search Acumen, noted, such reform would be ambitious and politically difficult. Council tax valuations have not been updated for 35 years, highlighting how entrenched current arrangements have become.

Devolution and Delivery Strategy

Colin Brown, head of planning and development at Carter Jonas, suggested that a Burnham premiership would likely accelerate the shift from centralised planning policy towards regional delivery. He argued that stronger devolution could give developers and landowners greater certainty about where growth is expected, what infrastructure is required, and how public investment will be sequenced.

However, Brown cautioned that devolution is useful only if it helps unblock delivery. The real test, he said, will be whether devolved powers produce more deliverable sites, better infrastructure, and greater confidence for investment – rather than simply representing policy announcements.

Francis Truss, also at Carter Jonas, stressed that any modern council housebuilding programme must be "additive", increasing supply alongside market sales, build-to-rent, and affordable housing through Section 106 obligations. If council housing becomes a substitute for market delivery, "the numbers will not add up", he warned, given the scale of the housing crisis.

Uncertainty Remains a Key Concern

Rebecca Shafran, head of commercial research at BNP Paribas Real Estate UK, noted that whilst the consensus around devolution, property taxation reform, and greater state involvement in housebuilding could address long-standing problems, these remain speculation rather than policy. She urged the government to provide clarity on property taxation changes, engage meaningfully with industry before finalising changes, and allow sensible transition periods for any reforms.

Brendan Geraghty, chief executive of the Association for Rental Living, welcomed Burnham's philosophy that "everything starts with a good home". He called on the government to leverage the build-to-rent sector, which has demonstrated it can deliver additional homes at scale and pace, as part of a broader strategy to address the housing crisis.

As the new administration settles in and prepares for an autumn budget, the property sector will be watching closely for detail on policy. Industry leaders have made clear that certainty and meaningful engagement will be as valuable as ambitious reform in restoring confidence to markets and unlocking investment.

Source: Property Industry Eye.