Yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation as both Labour leader and prime minister, with the aim of a successor being selected by September.

Richard Beresford, CEO at the NFB, applauded Starmer’s work on housing delivery and the efforts made towards building more homes.

However, he also conceded that the “plodding” nature of policy implementation was also part of this legacy, and a factor that the next prime minister must remedy.

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“His successor must get back into the fast lane, ensuring further procurement reforms support local businesses,” said Richard, who also wants SME housebuilders to get their medium sized site before broader planning reforms come in.

“[The next prime minister] must also understand that construction is the key to growth, but the industry is not in a healthy place because of government policy.

“If the next PM does not understand that and seek to solve its challenges, any ambition to deliver housing, roads, rail, hospitals, commercial space for modern jobs, amenities, clean power or anything built, will see the zero-sum game of capacity and land use continue to hamper British growth and prosperity.”