Regular readers will know that building more homes in the places where people want to live is something we’ve been campaigning on for a while. While it might not be the first thing people think of when it comes to supporting startups, a coherent housing policy is critical for entrepreneurs to flourish.
As things stand: “Talent is priced out of our most productive cities, threatening the position of the UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. British startup employees have to face long commutes, over-crowded conditions, and lower disposable incomes. They are discouraged from taking entrepreneurial risks, and the growth of their businesses is curtailed. They struggle to hire and retain the best and brightest.”
In Strong Foundations we made the case for more housing in detail, with some of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs signing a letter to back it. We think new homes would make the country more dynamic, more productive, more entrepreneurial and a much nicer place to live. Over the years it has amazed me that the majority of business organisations fail to campaign around this elephant in the room.
The Entrepreneurs Network is both a business group and think tank, and as a think tank we are just one of countless voices making the case that this is an absolutely critical issue. I couldn’t name a think tank – from the rightest of right to the leftist of left – that didn’t agree that our lack of homes where people want to live and work is holding us back. Of course, they have different remedies, but we all agree that the patient is sick.
Which is why ‘think tankers’ were buzzing following Keir Starmer’s conference speech and his later claim that he is a Yimby.
So far, Starmer has promised to build 1.5 million homes if elected, to build a wave of new towns near English cities, echoing the likes of Clement Attlee who built Basildon, Stevenage and Slough, to encourage Georgian-style townhouse blocks, and to restrict the ability of councils to stop developments on under-used urban land.
It’s not just Labour. Michael Gove burnished his Yimby credentials earlier in the year, when he announced plans for a new urban extension from Cambridge that would include both mid-rise residential and commercial lab space.
Of course, when it comes to promises on housing, government after government has proved that talk, unlike housing, can be incredibly cheap.
Nevertheless, as Ant Breach from the Centre for Cities argued even before Starmer’s announcement, there are reasons to be optimistic: “The Conservatives have a clearer vision about where the new housing should go and the importance of cities to doing so. But the politics shaping their proposals is dominated by the next election. Labour is currently much more vague on detail, but is more confident than the Conservatives talking about the political choices that have really driven the housing crisis – the planning system’s broad restrictions on new housebuilding and the damage that does to the national economy.”
There is a great deal of ruin in a nation. Experience teaches us that whoever wins the next election has the option to kick the can down the road some more. But not forever.
It Ain’t Broke
Our very first report back in 2014 was a manifesto for entrepreneurs. In 2019 and 2022 we joined forces with our pals at Startup Coalition to produce a couple more. As we head towards another election, it’s time, once again, to publicly make the case to the UK’s political parties that our policies should be in their manifestos.
Your think tank needs you.
You don’t need a fully formed policy solution. Maybe you’re an entrepreneur who has a persistent challenge that you know could be tackled – but you’re too busy running your business to know how. We can devote some time to finding and promoting a solution.
You don’t need to be an entrepreneur. Maybe you work advising or supporting founders and have unique insights on where the stumbling blocks really are. Or maybe you have an issue in your large company that also impacts startups.
You don’t need to be original. Maybe you’ve seen a policy idea that you think we should also champion (we’ll give due credit), or you have experience of things working better in another country that we should copy.
We aren’t short of ideas, but we don’t want to miss a thing. Thousands of people receive this email – and please forward this opportunity on to anyone who cares about making the UK the best palace in the world to start and grow a business.
Drop me an email with what you think should be in our manifesto.
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