Charles Fifield

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻? 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀. Becoming a father has changed how I see politics. Lower taxes, childcare and smaller government can make it easier to start a family and raise children. seanhoulston.uk/news/opinion…

𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻! 🏗️ People should have a say on developments in their communities, but our planning system has become far too complicated, expensive and slow. Working in the construction sector, I have seen the barriers to getting projects off the ground are considerable. Developments are being held back by overlapping regulations, escalating compliance costs, lengthy planning negotiations and uncertainty over decisions. Add the cumulative costs of Section 106 obligations, biodiversity net gain and BSA requirements, and schemes that once made financial sense can become unviable. The Conservatives are right to take an approach to tackle this. Replacing Section 106 and CIL with a simpler infrastructure levy, challenging excessive regulation and making development more commercially viable are sensible proposals. We need proper building safety standards, environmental protections and infrastructure to support new development. But regulation must be proportionate, predictable and actually deliver what it is supposed to. Britain doesn't lack the expertise, businesses or ambition to build. Too often, we've created a system that makes it unnecessarily difficult for them to do so.