The former director-general of the Confederation of British Industry today called for the Government to deliver a bold scheme to stimulate house building.
Sir Richard Lambert, former CBI chief, said there was a strong case for the
government to 'change tack' as the economic climate worsened.
Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, he was reacting to news that the Bank of England is expected to downgrade growth forecasts as the double-dip recession intensifies.
The Bank's quarterly inflation report will pile extra pressure on Chancellor George Osborne to soften his harsh austerity programme and act to boost growth and jobs.
Sir Richard said: “Interest rates are low, so the Chancellor should be getting some jobs in the economy.
“The obvious way to do that is through the construction sector, the obvious need there is in housing. So I think he should be thinking about some bold scheme on housing.”
He added an initiative to build up to 100,000 new homes would be the scale of stimulus needed.
Sir Richard said that helping low income families was also a priority because they would spend available money straightaway, boosting the economy.
The Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, will today say he expects no growth this year in the Bank's quarterly inflation report.
Just three months ago he was predicting 0.8% and even a bounce back of 2% in his forecast a year ago.
Mike Leonard, Director of the Modern Masonry Alliance, said: “The evidence is overwhelming, the time for waiting has expired. We need a major house building program now to turn around our economy.
“Let's build on the Olympic success and go for Gold for Jobs and Growth. 25000 additional public rented homes and a 12 month cut in VAT for home improvements will win Gold for Team GB.”
comments
I couldn't agree more so long as the small and medium sized developers are included. We are a classic case with planning for 22 houses on 2 sites but can't get financing on anything like reasonable terms. We could put £3m into the building industry and economy with support from sensible lenders with little or no risk to the lender. When these developments are completed and our equity released we can move onto further developments to the benefit of the uk economy.
Richard Boxer BSc MRICS
Director Boxer Properties Ltd
