The creation of new garden cities has been mentioned by all three main parties, with varying degrees of emphasis, as a way of addressing the UK’s housing shortage.  Where to put the new settlements, however, is naturally a politically charged issue – particularly in the Conservative Party due to the mooted locations being in their electoral heartland. As the 2015 general election approaches and the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives look to differentiate themselves from one another, the emerging tension over garden cities will undoubtedly sharpen. So what have the three main parties been saying?

Liberal Democrats

 On Saturday 18 January, in an article for the Daily Telegraph, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg reiterated his support for new garden cities (bit.ly/LAa2ES). He stated that there is an “arc of opportunity” across the south east where new settlements should be located, and that “in 2011, our housing strategy committed us to publishing a prospectus for new garden cities and that is exactly what we will do”.

 Mr Clegg also called for the Government to be “honest and upfront” about where new settlements should be developed, in reference to a supposedly concealed report (see below).

Conservatives

Allegedly, a Government-commissioned study supporting the development of two new towns is being blocked. The Daily Telegraph claims that the report proposes the towns be built in Yalding (Kent) and Gerrards Cross (Buckinghamshire). A link to the article: bit.ly/1kToCaC

Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and Kris Hopkins, Under Secretary of State for Housing, both claim that the report was not produced in the Department for Communities and Local Government and that they haven’t seen it. However, Pickles suggested it may have been produced by another department.

In a Sky News interview on Sunday, Eric Pickles claimed that the Government “could probably produce garden settlements, we could produce a garden city or two - provided it is in places where people want it and there are authorities expressing an interest.” bit.ly/1eYwUca

London Mayor Boris Johnson, however, is not in favour of new garden cities. In an article for the Telegraph on Sunday 19 January, he evoked a dystopian landscape where “Cleggograds”, “Cleggopolises” and “Cleggton Keynes” would loom over the countryside. Instead Johnson calls for housing developments on brownfield land in the Thames Gateway to accompany the construction of a new Thames Estuary airport. A link to Johnson’s article: bit.ly/1dIpTgJ

Labour

Emma Reynolds, the Shadow Minister for Housing, supports the creation of five new towns between 2015-2020. The Lyons Commission is expected to lay out Reynold’s proposals in more detail when it is published in Autumn 2014.

In November 2013, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls stated that a Labour government would provide “infrastructure guarantees” to development corporations to ensure that new towns could be funded cheaply. Apart from these two commitments, Labour has been relatively muted considering their leadership on the issue in past – most significantly Gordon Brown’s ill-fated “eco towns” policy; an undelivered cornerstone of his 2007 commitment to build 3 million homes by 2020.