There weren't all that many people that the Chancellor managed to convince, but Rachel Reeves' Spring Statement on Wednesday did persuade one key audience that Labour could be within touching distance of achieving at least one plank in its economic strategy.

"Get Britain Building" has been a rallying cry as the government seeks to shore up the UK's flagging finances, and to this end the planning reforms outlined by Ms Reeves led the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to conclude that Labour is on track to build an extra 1.3 million homes by the end of the parliament. For a Chancellor desperately seeking any scrap of good news, that's tantalisingly close to the stated target of 1.5 million.

That would take UK housebuilding activity to its highest level in more than 40 years, with planning system reforms delivering an extra 170,000 homes by 2029-2030.

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