The Labour Party will boost the supply of social housing if it wins power in the next election, the shadow housing secretary has said.

According to Angela Rayner, a rise in social housing units will also help first time buyers afford mortgages. She also pledged to increase the number homes for first time buyers.

Rayner, who became shadow housing secretary in Labour leader Kier Starmer’s cabinet reshuffle last week, told the BBC: “We haven’t got enough social housing in this country…that’s kind of having an impact on whether you can buy your first home.”

Rayner went on to claim that “challenges and blockages across the whole of the housing market” are being caused by high private rents.