Why Rishi Sunak should take the fight to Airbnb

Last month Michael Gove suggested changing the law in England to allow tourist hotspots to force homeowners to seek planning permission before they can rent out holiday lets.

It didn’t go down well. Some on his own side, including hard hitters like Jacob Rees-Mogg, saw the notion of restricting homeowners’ rights as anti-commercial, anti-freedom and downright unconservative. Not surprisingly, Airbnb said it would fight the idea hard, joined by pressure groups representing those who had done well out of the Airbnb boom. A few days ago hedge-funder and big Tory donor Crispin Odey, never one to mince his words, bluntly said this showed the UK was not open for business and Gove ‘might as well be a communist.’

There is one problem: Gove is correct. His proposals are not only right but entirely consistent with conservatism. Furthermore, it is vital that the Tories press ahead with these reforms.