A joint report by two centre-right think tanks has outlined proposals for London’s housing crisis that could be adopted by Conservative or Reform UK administrations, identifying potential for up to 1.85 million additional homes across the capital.
The Centre for Policy Studies and Onward published ‘Fixing London Housing’ on 2 July 2026, with forewords from James Cleverly, Conservative shadow housing secretary, and Laila Cunningham, Reform’s mayoral candidate for London. The report argues that London has existing legislative tools to increase housing delivery but lacks political commitment to implement them.
Five development categories identified
The report identifies five categories of development opportunity. First, it proposes creating two new Development Corporations covering Southern Tower Hamlets and the Old Kent Road Bakerloo line extension corridor, whilst expanding powers for the existing Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation around its 11 transport stops and future HS2 station.
Estate regeneration represents the largest single opportunity, with the report claiming potential for 500,000 additional homes by doubling density on post-war estates. The authors also identify 2,293 hectares of Strategic Industrial Land within walking distance of public transport stations that could be released for housing.
Additional proposals include five-year asset management pipelines for public land and a presumption favouring brownfield development in the London Plan, combined with removing Biodiversity Net Gain requirements for brownfield sites, raising environmental impact assessment thresholds, and extending full expensing to cover brownfield regeneration.
Market context and housing starts
The report states that housing starts in London have fallen to their lowest level since the Second World War. According to the authors, London requires 1.85 million additional homes to meet demand, representing the country’s largest housing shortage.
The proposals also include expanding homeowners’ rights to develop their properties and changes to social housing stock management. These measures aim to remove what the authors describe as planning and regulatory restrictions under both the London Plan and national policy.
Ben Hopkinson, head of housing and infrastructure at the Centre for Policy Studies, and Laurence Fredricks, senior researcher at Onward, stated: ‘London has by far the largest housing shortage in the country because successive Governments and the Mayor of London have made it increasingly unviable to build in the capital.’
Political positioning
Cleverly commented that the report ‘makes a compelling contribution to the debate about London’s future’ and highlights the scale of the housing crisis. Cunningham argued that ‘if political decisions created this crisis, political decisions can solve it.’
The recommendations are positioned as a blueprint for potential future Conservative or Reform administrations at Westminster or City Hall. The report’s publication comes as housing affordability concerns continue to affect London residents, with the authors claiming the capital offers the strongest public support for new housing development alongside the greatest housing need.
The proposals would require significant changes to current planning policy and regulatory frameworks. Implementation would depend on electoral outcomes and the political priorities of future administrations at both mayoral and national government level.
