Promises to deliver 100,000 social-rent units a year and require all new homes to reach Passivhaus standards from 2025 feature in the Liberal Democrat Party’s manifesto for next month’s general election.

The pledges are part of a £130bn package of infrastructure investment that also includes a commitment to build 300,000 homes a year and press ahead with the delivery of HS2 and Crossrail 2.

Readers of the party’s 100-page Stop Brexit, Build a Brighter Future blueprint will be under no doubt about the pecking order of its priorities. However the housing delivery proposals would represent the kind of step-change experts have long argued is the bedrock for dealing with the nation’s current crisis.

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