Andy Burnham has scaled back his ambitious council housebuilding agenda as part of efforts to launch the government's affordable homes programme. The prime minister has allocated an initial £10bn of Labour's £39bn social and affordable homes budget, primarily to housing associations, with roughly 60% designated for social rent. This marks a shift from Burnham's earlier pledge that the scheme should be "dedicated to council homes," raising doubts about his ability to deliver "the biggest council housebuilding programme since the postwar period." Burnham has framed greater public control over housing as central to his political platform.

Nigel Farage's Reform UK opposed the approach, linking housing shortages to immigration and proposing prioritisation of "British-born" families for social homes. Subsidised housing in England is delivered through housing associations, offering social rent at about 50% of market value, affordable rent at 80%, and shared ownership. Technical adjustments now allow councils easier access to programme funding, with officials indicating future rounds will favour local authorities.

However, with only £16bn remaining after London's separate allocation, expanding council-built homes significantly without new funding remains challenging. Last year, councils built just 10,500 homes, compared to averages of 190,000 in the 1950s and 130,000 in the 1970s.