Stephen McPartland, the Conservative MP for Stevenage, has joined a rebellion on the government's Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill.

McPartland is one of 59 Conservative MPs backing an amendment that would ban mandatory housebuilding targets for local authorities.

The amendment has been tabled by Theresa Villiers and is supported by other former cabinet ministers including Nadine Dorries, Priti Patel, Iain Duncan Smith, Damian Green and Chris Grayling.

The bill was due to be voted on on Monday, December 5. However, the Guardian reports that this is now set to be delayed as the government seeks to quell the rebellion.

READ MORE

Writing in the Times, Robert Colville - director of the Centre for Policy Studies, a centre-right think tank - said that "under normal circumstances such proposals could cut the number of homes being built by 20 to 40 per cent", and that in current economic circumstances the fall in the number of houses being built would be "much steeper".

He described the proposals as "wicked", saying they were "spitting in the face of a generation" and that rebels were "attempting to make the imbalance between generations unimaginably worse".

Kevin Bonavia, Labour's parliamentary andidate for Stevenage, said: "Mr McPartland and his fellow Conservative MPs simply don't get how bad the housing crisis is. No house building target means the target is effectively zero.

"This will only bring more misery for the many local people who tell me that they are unable to rent or buy their own homes. 

Labour run councils like Stevenage and North Herts are working hard to provide new homes, but want to ensure many more are truly affordable.

"In 2010 the Conservative/Lib Dem government cut subsidies for affordable homes making the current crisis much worse.

"Councils desperately need funding and powers to ensure that we can provide the homes that local people can afford."