What the Labour Growth Group is really about

In a month full of parliamentary firsts, we now have another: the formation of the first new Labour caucus. More than 60 MPs have co-signed a letter, as part of the ‘Labour Growth Group,’ enthusiastically declaring their support for planning reform. ‘With such a strong mandate from the country,’ they write ‘it’s imperative that the new government grasps the nettle and goes for growth.’

It urges the government to start building the 1.5 million new homes which Labour pledged in its manifesto, including ‘prioritising grey belt development.’ Very often, MPs claim to back new homes yet object to anything in their own patch. But these co-signatories say that they are willing to have the ‘difficult conversations in our own communities about how, not whether we deliver our targets.’

The LGG is mostly comprised of MPs who were elected three weeks ago. It presently does not have any formal leaders; efforts to pen a joint statement started just ten days ago.