LREF 2016: The property industry should use the Brexit debate to make the case for the sector’s role in job creation and housing delivery more forcefully.
Claire Coghill, councillor responsible for economic growth at the London borough of Waltham Forest, said that she had seen a difference in Brexit arguments between London and elsewhere.
“What you see in London is a very different sort of politics to the rest of the country,” she said. “What this sector does uniquely is talking about job creation and the skills that are needed. I hope people who have been on Remain side help policy makers and politicians make those arguments. Hopefully you will see this sector speak out more positively.”
David Partridge, joint chief executive at Argent, warned the UK would suffer in the event of Brexit.
“No question it is going to be very, very badly felt,” he said. “Certainly in London, certainly in the property industry. This idea that we are somehow going to leap free is a nonsense to me. We are in a global world.”
Partridge said he was aware of one company whose board has said that in the event of a Brexit vote they would put every investment decision on hold for six months. He said there was a risk of a repeat vote and said he hoped for a definitive result.
“This just seems to put everything that London has strived to achieve in the last 10-20 years at risk.”
Janice Morphet of the Bartlett School of Planning reminded the audience that next year the UK takes on the presidency of the EU, adding: “If we think that the rest of Europe will be aghast if we leave, we are wrong. They will get on with their own lives.”
Chris Giles, economics editor at the Financial Times, said that, based on press coverage, Brexit had caused more uncertainty than the financial crisis.
