Labour’s 1.5m‑home pledge falters as house completions and UK cement output slump
Official figures show the lowest quarterly home completions since 2016 outside the pandemic and cement production at post‑war lows, raising questions about infrastructure delivery
Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million homes during this parliament is facing a significant shortfall as new home completions and domestic cement production have both fallen to multi‑year lows, official and industry figures show.
Government statistics recorded 38,780 home completions between January and March, the lowest quarterly total since 2016 outside the pandemic period. In the first nine months of the Labour government, 129,510 properties were completed, a rate that, if annualised, would equate to roughly 173,000 homes — well below the 300,000 a year the party says would be required to reach its 1.5 million target.
Separately, the Mineral Products Association (MPA) reported that UK cement production fell to 7.3 million tonnes last year, the lowest level since 1950 and about half the nation’s output in 1990. The association said that figure was comparable to production during the period of post‑Second World War rationing.
Diana Casey, executive director of the MPA, warned in comments distributed with the figures that the decline in cement output threatens the delivery of homes and wider national infrastructure. "Cement literally underpins the nation’s growth. We can’t deliver new homes, schools, hospitals, transport links or clean energy infrastructure without it," she said.
The MPA and industry sources attributed the fall in production to a combination of high energy costs, regulatory pressures and rising employment expenses. Those factors, the association said, have reduced the competitiveness of domestic cement producers and made supply more reliant on imports.
The downturn in building activity comes amid political scrutiny of the government’s housing strategy and heightened attention on the role of construction supply chains in meeting policy goals. The shortfall in completions has also been described as an embarrassment for Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, whose office has recently faced questions over her personal property tax affairs.
Industry groups and analysts say the twin problems of weak construction output and constrained cement supply could make it more difficult for ministers and developers to meet national targets for housing and public infrastructure without policy or fiscal intervention. The MPA has urged the government to consider measures to reduce energy and regulatory burdens on the sector and to support investment in domestic manufacturing capacity.
Construction sector commentators noted that quarterly and annualised figures can fluctuate with housing market demand, planning decisions and large‑scale projects entering or leaving the delivery pipeline. However, the current series of low completions and reduced cement production has underscored a longer‑running decline in UK materials manufacturing and raised questions about resilience in critical supply chains.
Government departments and the Housing Secretary’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the figures and the industry’s recommendations.
