Edinburgh to benefit from Labour military housing pledge

Published on Monday, Labour’s Defence Housing Strategy marks the biggest renewal of military accommodation in half a century.

Welcoming the announcement, Dr Scott Arthur MP said: “Edinburgh South West’s forces families make huge sacrifices to keep us safe. The least they deserve is a warm and secure home. After years of neglect, this renewal – the biggest in over 50 years – is long overdue. It means I will never again have to be ashamed of the state of service accommodation in Edinburgh South West.”

Key points of Labour’s Defence Housing Strategy include:

• A generational renewal of military housing: Nine in ten military homes – more than 40,000 properties – will be modernised or upgraded, with 14,000 rebuilt or substantially refurbished, funded by Labour’s record uplift in Defence spending. 
• A ‘Forces First’ approach: A new standalone Defence Housing Service will keep military homes in public hands, amplify the voices of service families, and expand homeownership opportunities for personnel and veterans. 
• Building for Britain: A major housebuilding drive on surplus Defence land could deliver over 100,000 new homes for civilian and military families – generating billions in economic output and supporting thousands of jobs. 

Defence secretary John Healey MP said: “Our British forces personnel and veterans fulfil the ultimate public service – and the very least they deserve is a decent home.

“This new Strategy puts our Armed Forces and their families first. Backed by record investment and a new specialist Defence Housing Service, we’ll deliver homes fit for heroes and better value for the taxpayer. We can’t fix forces housing overnight, but this work is already underway – and it will now accelerate.”