Housing in the elections

Originally written as a column for Inside Housing.

Significant change could be on the way for housing in the wake of next week’s elections.

The obvious place to start is Welsh politics, which seems set for a major change that could end 100 years of Labour dominance and see another party running the Welsh Government for the first time since devolution.

Recent polls have Plaid Cymru and Reform running neck and neck and a victory for either would take housing in new but opposite directions.

With a new electoral system adding extra uncertainty, Plaid looks favourite to form a new government but would probably need formal or informal support from at least one other party.

That result would bring some continuity for social housing: the last Welsh Government started with a cooperation agreement between Labour and Plaid, the two parties have similar targets for new social homes and the change might be felt more in details such as the energy standards that apply to them.

But Plaid is also proposing two significant changes with the potential to rewire the wider housing system.