Budget reaction – Sophie Horgan

Sophie Horgan, director of award-winning Horgan Homes and the UK’s Best Small Housebuilder at the WhatHouse? Awards 2023, said today’s Budget would fail to restore confidence in the Chancellor.

Sophie – whose Midlands-based company has built a reputation for the quality of its work - described the Chancellor’s speech as a ‘sticking plaster’ Budget which did not address the key issues holding back the UK economy.

“I’m afraid any confidence in this Budget and this chancellor was fatally undermined when Rachel Reeves performed her screeching U-turn over tax rises two weeks ago.

“It was clear evidence that this is a Chancellor who puts political expediency ahead of economic integrity.

“As a result, today’s budget is a sticking plaster of a statement which will do nothing to restore faith in this Chancellor.

“I wanted to see clear action to prioritise the small housing sites and SME constructors who are the backbone of housebuilding in this country. Things like cutting red tape and affordable housing obligations around small sites of 20 homes or fewer would have made a huge difference.

“I heard little which will help first-time buyers achieve their housing dreams and even less about creating the sort of Government-backed finance deals which would enable smaller builders to press ahead with projects with real confidence.

“We have heard plenty of talk from this Government about getting Britain building, but that simply won’t happen unless the army of SME builders is supported to create the homes we know people want.

“The fact we heard so little about how the Government might achieve that means not only is there no chance of building the 1.5million homes the Government has promised, but that generations of people now look unlikely to be able to follow their dream of owning their own home for years to come.”

Horgan Homes is a Midlands‑based SME housebuilder with a long track record of quality craftsmanship, meticulous design and premium locations. The company is widely recognised for its distinctive single‑storey homes and “lateral living” approach across carefully selected schemes.