If England has to fix the UK’s housing crisis the Barnett Formula needs to go

Today’s Guardian reports that “Councils will be forced to build homes to fix England’s housing crisis, says Starmer“.

Whilst councils in England will, indeed, be forced to build an unsustainable number of homes to solve the housing shortage problem, it is neither England’s housing crisis nor did the UK Prime Minister mention England in his statement about England.

The UK as a whole has a shortage of housing with demand outstripping supply in all four member states of the British Union. Around 60% of the population increase in the UK over the last decade is as a result of immigration which is a reserved matter and immigration policy is UK-wide. That most immigration is to England is merely a matter of geography, economics and demographics. England is most impacted by immigration to the UK and the demand it places on public services and infrastructure but it is a problem of the UK’s making and the solutions are entirely within their hands.

The UK government uses the discredited Barnett Formula to determine how much funding it allocates to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The formula isn’t based on need and only allows England to be the sole net contributor to the UK Treasury. The Barnett Formula ensures that spending more money on public services and infrastructure in England results in unaffordable budget increases for the rest of the UK. As a result, public services and infrastructure continue to be stretched in England.

Ultimately, the housing shortage in England can only be solved by addressing the unsustainable level of demand which would require England to be an independent country. Until that happens, England needs a fair share of funding that is reflective of the need created by the demands the UK puts on services in England.