Watch me drink a mug of coffee 👇

Regional subdivision ended in 2011 as far as I can tell - all alongside massive reductions in grant total. So running up total numbers clearly not the ambition (though maybe keeping them as high as they could be given lower grant maybe was)

Could not agree more. This desire by London Councils to build reflects immense levels of need, which grant isn't currently focused on addressing. I've written a piece arguing that Government should, whatever the grant pot, focus more on London, as it did in the 2000s:

Grant funded housebuilding rates doesn't map onto need. I think its imperative the Government changes tac

London, on every metric, comes out with greatest need. It has over half all households in temporary accommodation. The highest overcrowding rates, the highest share of households on council waiting lists, and the worst private rental affordability.

With a 10-year larger grant pot available, Government needs to think again about targeting need better. But need varies both between and within regions. So a new need-focused grant regime should allocated to mayors. This would best respond to variation across the country

This lack of prioritisation today is the direct result of policy decisions to focus on building more homes with minimal grant. The NAO say this policy resulted in “no strong match between the areas of high housing need and the areas where housing providers are delivering affordable homes”

In the 2000s, need was assessed on a regional basis, according to households in temporary accommodation, in overcrowded conditions, and housing affordability. This led to most spending in London and the Greater South East. But this clear prioritisation has been lost over the last 15 years.

A super important topic, I don't think gets enough attention: Are we spending public money on social and affordable housing where it is needed most. Answer - no. But we have in the past, and can do so again. 🧵

Our Density Data Tool 2.0 is live! 📊 A fun refresh: plugged in some new data, added dynamic text and filters, and gave it a neater look. Go have a play 👇

We've updated our density data tool, which now compares British cities with their French and Japanese peers based on proximity to rail stations and distance from city centre. Link to explainer blog and the tool in comment below 👇

Both, without focusing on exactly what the mix should be or what future tenures could be (different in different places, I think) I take council housebuilding to be non-market housing led (not necessarily directly delivered always) by councils, and then try to set out steps to maximising that

Not sure I completely understand your distinction between garden cities and new towns, but one point we make in the new towns paper is that they need to be urban extensions, or well connected to existing large places, so they can make the most of existing infrastructure & economic activity.

For Burnham to reach his (tricky) goals on council housebuilding, he'll want his cash to go as far as possible - we've set out how: Four takeaways: 1. Focus on cities 2. Give councils balance sheet flexibility 3. Get mayors to distribute cash 4. Be broad-minded on defining council housebuilding:

I don't spend a lot of time on it in the paper, as RtB is an area the Government has done stuff and is already planning to do more. But in short, I think the Social Housing Bill should be amended to give councils more flexibility to deny or sell if they want. New towns, see my 2024 work here: