The eternal optimist

If the recent spate of new housing policies coming out of DLUHC had not made it clear already, 2024 is likely to be an election year. Everyone’s favourite secretary of state recently found himself at the mercy of Britain’s geriatric upper chamber. Appearing in front of the House of Lords built environment committee, Michael Gove was quizzed about when he was going to reform the nutrient neutrality laws that have been plaguing housebuilders. While Gove was unable to commit to solving the issue within this parliament, he did promise to agitate for a change to law “when the government is re-elected later this year”. Committee chair Lord Daniel Moylan wryly responded: “My Lords, you may have heard the Conservative party’s first manifesto commitment.”

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