Housing was one of Labour’s central policy battlegrounds ahead of the 2024 general election, with the party promising to promote home ownership, increase housebuilding and strengthen tenants’ rights.
But a new poll by Ipsos shows the government is struggling to convince voters that progress is being made.
Less than one in five people (17%) now believe the Labor government is doing a good job on housing, four percentage points lower than in May 2025. The figures underline the scale of the challenge facing ministers as affordability pressures, rising rents and housing shortages loom large across large parts of the country.
Labor entered office promising to deliver 1.5 million new homes during the current parliament, as well as planning reforms to accelerate growth and unlock stalled housing supply. The government has also pushed for reform in the rental sector, including plans to abolish section 21 “no fault” evictions.
However, the housing market is under pressure. The level of housebuilding has slowed, scheme approvals remain slow and despite some reduction in interest rates mortgage affordability is affecting first-time buyers.
Polling also shows that there is no clear political consensus among voters as to which party currently has the strongest housing strategy.
Nearly a quarter of respondents said Reform UK (25%) would do a better job on housing than Labour, while 23% chose the Green Party and 22% chose the Conservatives. No data was provided for any other political party.
The fragmented response highlights widespread public dissatisfaction with housing delivery under successive governments, particularly around affordability, rental costs and access to homeownership.
For the property industry, the figures are likely to increase pressure on Labor to demonstrate measurable progress on planning reform, housing delivery and transaction activity in the year ahead.
Recent polling shows that this segment of voters is becoming more open to considering alternatives [parties]”said Ben Marshall, research director at Ipsos in the UK.
Tenants’ rights have yet to be improved through changes beyond evictions