Andy Burnham intends to oversee the largest council house building programme since the post-war period.
The proposal rests on the use of vacant public land to cut development costs. Burnham has pointed to the loss of almost 1.5 million council homes since the 1980s and a waiting list of similar scale as justification for a return to direct state provision on a grand scale.
His policy speech on 29 June 2026 at the People's History Museum in Manchester framed the initiative as part of a wider "preventative state". It includes the creation of a Manchester-based hub labelled Number 10 North to coordinate regeneration efforts across the country.
The Times reported on 16 July 2026 that Burnham plans to force departments including the Treasury to release publicly owned land for the programme. This goes beyond simply mobilising sites already declared surplus and instead reaches into holdings retained by central government for other purposes.
Such compulsion marks a shift toward heavy-handed state direction. Rather than reforming planning rules or adjusting incentives to unlock private investment, the policy leans on administrative power to redirect land away from its current owners or intended uses.
History offers caution. Post-war building rates peaked above 200,000 homes a year under councils, yet subsequent sales under right-to-buy policies contributed to the very stock decline Burnham now cites. Rebuilding at similar volume through public bodies carries familiar risks of cost overruns, slower delivery and long-term burdens on taxpayers.
