Research Papers

TYI Research Papers

Small Changes, Big Rewards: Ensuring Planning Connects with Mobile Infrastructure Ambitions

This report, commissioned by Mobile UK, the trade association for mobile operators, argues that very small adjustments to General Permitted Development Rights and the National Planning Policy Framework could result in billions of pounds of added value in infrastructure and technological advancements. It gives specific examples of adjustments which could be made at no cost to the taxpayer while protecting the integrity of the planning system.

Policy Note: Developer-Funded, Government-Backed Loan-to-Own Scheme For First Time Buyer

In Loan-to-Own, TYI and Weston Homes argue that the government’s 1.5 million housebuilding target won’t be hit without fixing the “demand-side” bottleneck. While planning reform is vital, the report uses new economic modeling to show that First-Time Buyers (FTBs) are being locked out by massive deposit requirements. This collapse in mortgage accessibility doesn’t just hurt individuals; it slows build-out rates across the entire industry. The report proposes a bold, industry-funded solution: a government-backed equity loan of up to 20%, interest-free for the buyer for the first five years. Crucially, this isn’t a taxpayer subsidy—developers pay a 5% annual coupon to the Treasury to cover financing costs, turning the scheme into a revenue-generator for the government while saving the average buyer £500 a month. This report demonstrates that it is possible to unlock access to homeownership, support market liquidity and accelerate build-out rates while remaining cost-neutral, or better, for the taxpayer.

The Greyfield Renaissance Converting Car Parks Into Homes

As Britain returns to growth, it is imperative that we bring our left behind towns with the rest of country. Using the ‘Newcastle Model’, we show that the concrete, brutalists monoliths of old can be converted into the future focussed homes our communities want and need. With the recommendations of this policy paper, we will see a Renaissance of our left behind towns, and a revival of the high street, and the prosperity our nation has long craved.

Safe And Abundant Reforming The BSR To Solve The Urban Housing Crisis

In Safe and Abundant, the YIMBY Initiative exposes how the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), created in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy, has become one of the biggest blockages to getting Britain building. Drawing on new data and industry interviews, the paper shows how a system built for safety has instead built delay: 70% of applications rejected, 18-month waits for approval, and housing starts collapsing across London. But this isn’t a demolition job: it’s a blueprint. The report sets out a bold, practical reform agenda: digitising submissions, using AI to triage cases, fast-tracking compliant developers, and transforming the BSR into a Fitch- or S&P-style safety-ratings body that rewards proven excellence. The message is simple: Britain can build more, and build safely, if it builds smarter.

Yes In My Farm Yard: How Permitted Development Can Save Rural Britain

The year 2024 saw a landmark expansion of agricultural Permitted Development Rights (PDR) in England, aimed at unlocking significant economic value in the rural sector while maintaining planning safeguards. PDRs allow certain agricultural building changes, such as barn conversions or new farm structures, to proceed without full planning permission, under nationally set limits. In May 2024, the government implemented reforms enabling farmers to convert more agricultural buildings into homes and businesses, and to construct larger farm buildings, without a planning application (edgarslimited. co.uk).

The New Build Break: Stamp Duty Relief For Faster Sales

Britain’s housing crisis is a result of long-standing supply shortages, stagnant planning policy, and distortionary demand-side taxation—particularly Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). With housing completions failing to meet the demand necessary to close a 4.3 million-unit deficit, the current trajectory leaves young people disenfranchised and developers unable to finance new stock. While government initiatives have targeted planning reforms, a major friction point remains the SDLT regime, which impairs housing liquidity, raises transaction costs, and disincentivises capital flows into new development.

Associated Research Papers

Reach or Retreat Powering Britain's Space Industry

Britain helped build the modern space age, but we have too often let others capture the rewards. As the in-orbit economy accelerates, the danger of falling behind is real. Reach or Retreat sets out how fragmented policy, weak scale-up support and slow investment threaten our leadership. The choice is simple: act with purpose now, or watch a trillion-pound future slip beyond our reach.

The risks of AI and how blockchain can solve them

The 21st Century is one of sublime and rapid innovation. Our work, communities, entertainment, and the very columns on which we have built our society, has changed beyond comprehension in the last decade. With all of the upsides of digitisation, artificial intelligence, and interconnection, the downsides are prescient and concerning. Unlike previous revolutions, however, it is technology rather than regulation, which can stem the uncertainty and trust, building credible and wealth- creating solutions for society. For us at Labour Tech, this conversation is about demonstrating these arguments – showing how blockchain in particular will safeguard our democracy and secure our nation’s economic future.

Fund Or Fade Powering A Sovereign Quantum Britain

A call for mission-led investment to secure UK leadership in the next frontier of national interest.

We are a group of professionals with experience in the technology sector and members of the Labour Party, working together to help shape forward-looking policies. We collaborate with experts from industry, academia, and politics to support ideas that drive progress. Britain needs growth now more than ever, and by supporting our homegrown technology sector, we can help deliver the economic renewal our country urgently needs.

Defend or Depend The Battle For Defence Sovereignty

When Britain’s technological Crown Jewel, ARM Holdings, was acquired by SoftBank in 2016, Britain departed with its sovereign capability in chip design. It has long been the story of successful British businesses – built with British tools, by British brains, in British sheds, only to be snapped up and shipped off to far-away realms. Now our defence sector faces the same fate.