Housing and affordability were at the centre of this year’s Green Party Conference, but the message from Brighton extended much further, even if much of it has been drowned out by headlines about internal divisions and contentious motions.

Zack Polanski used his leader’s speech to set out a wider political offer spanning rents, council housebuilding, public ownership, wealth redistribution, social justice and climate action. He also sought to sharpen the party’s distinction from Andy Burnham’s Labour, repeatedly arguing that Green electoral pressure can influence the direction of Government: ‘Vote Green and watch Labour move.’

For the built environment, the direction feels increasingly clear: more social and council housing, stronger protection for renters, greater community involvement, longer-term stewardship of land and more local control over the infrastructure needed to support growth. How Green-led authorities put those principles into practice in constrained financial circumstances remains a key question.

Housing and emergency rent brakes

The housing crisis was one of the defining themes of conference, framed as an affordability issue as much as one of supply.

Polanski focused heavily on younger people and families struggling to secure a home, with a major offer to private renters in the form of a three-year  ‘emergency brake’ on private rent increases, limiting annual rises to the lowest of CPI, wage growth or 2%, alongside a longer-term national fair rents guarantee.

He was keen to emphasises that the party is not anti-development. He pointed to Green-led authorities’ records on housing and argued that  ‘more Greens elected means more homes being built’ while calling to expand council housebuilding significantly.

The distinction matters as the emerging Green position nationally is increasingly about what is built, who can afford it and who ultimately benefits, rather than whether to build in the first place. This national position will undoubtedly be tested at local level.

A different model of regeneration

The wider conference debate went beyond housing numbers to focus on land, ownership and the long-term outcomes of development.

Haringey Council Leader Cllr Mark Blake argued that ‘council housing is the best investment the state can make’, while highlighting the scale of housing need in his borough and the need for greater national government support.

He was also critical of previous approaches to regeneration, arguing that  ‘the old model of regeneration has failed a lot of Londoners.’ That reflected a wider theme running through the conference: publicly owned land should not simply be treated as a financial asset, but as a means of delivering affordable housing, workspace, infrastructure and benefits for existing communities.

Places for London set out a similar approach at the “How Do We Deliver Sustainable Stewardship of Public Land?” fringe session, describing its role as extending beyond maximising commercial returns to acting as a developer, investor, curator and long-term steward of its estate.

Beyond consultation

Community involvement was another major theme.

Southwark Council Leader Cllr James McAsh argued that working with communities  ‘doesn’t just mean consultation, it means giving communities what they need.’

Discussions focused on how communities could move beyond simply responding to proposals and instead play a greater role in owning, shaping and delivering development themselves. Community land trusts, community benefit societies and example social enterprise models including including Coin Street, St Ann’s Hospital and Seven Sisters Market were highlighted.

Questions from attendees also focused on funding for community land trusts, protecting space for local businesses and tackling land banking and vacant commercial units.

There was, however, recognition that engagement cannot become a barrier to addressing housing need. McAsh distinguished between consulting communities on whether agreed priorities such as council housing should happen and involving them meaningfully in how those priorities are delivered.

More than a housing pitch

Polanski’s wider speech showed how far the Green offer now extends beyond traditional environmental priorities.

Alongside housing, he called for greater public ownership, higher taxation of extreme wealth and exceptional bank profits and stronger welfare provision. He also emphasised support for migrant, LGBT+ and disabled communities.

Climate remained central, with opposition to further North Sea oil and gas extraction alongside calls for more energy-efficient homes and a major expansion of community energy. The party repeated its calls for a pause on new data centres and expressed scepticism about modular nuclear reactors, although a motion was passed which ended the party’s longstanding blanket opposition to nuclear power, which represents a major shift in position.

Devolution as a route to growth

Infrastructure also featured heavily, with the Bakerloo Line Extension used as the central case study for greater fiscal devolution.

Speakers argued that better transport through South East London could unlock thousands of homes and jobs but remains too dependent on Treasury decisions. Allowing London to retain more of the revenues generated by growth was presented as one potential route to funding major infrastructure more directly.

The discussion also stressed that devolution should not simply transfer more power to City Hall. It was argued that boroughs and communities should retain meaningful roles in decision-making and revenue raising.

What next?

The next political test comes almost immediately.

On 8^th October, Zack Polanski will contest the Holborn & St Pancras by-election for Keir Starmer’s former seat. The contest has become an important focus for the Greens, with Polanski leaving conference shortly after his speech to return to campaigning in Camden. The party has been encouraging members to do the same. The party has consistently positioned itself as an underdog against Labour in the by-election but Polanski’s performance will be closely watched as a reflection of the party’s wider momentum and profile in the Burnham era.

That momentum appears to have stalled over recent months, as the party’s poll ratings have suffered following the ‘Burnham bounce’. The coming weeks and months will be a test of Polanski’s pitch that voting Green can meaningfully influence the national debate and move the Government further left. More widely, Polanski will be keen to see the focus of coverage of the party shift from internal debates to policies and performance.

Delivery remains the key challenge for Green authorities across England. Conference showed a party with increasingly defined positions on social housing, public land, community ownership and devolution – but putting those ambitions into practice will require funding, institutional capacity and difficult decisions about development.

For more on how these dynamics are already playing out in London, read Kanda’s latest Green Boroughs Briefing, which looks at the emerging approach of the capital’s Green-led councils.

Read the Green Boroughs Briefing Here