Angela Rayner has defended her decision to remove the need for “beautiful” buildings from Labour’s housing policy, claiming the word was “preventing and blocking development”.

The stipulation was added to planning rules by the previous Conservative government, with then housing secretary Michael Gove saying it would encourage communities to support new projects.

But his successor and now deputy prime minister said it was a “ridiculous” clause to include and there were already other rules and protections in place, adding: “I don’t buy this idea that I am just going to build a lot of ugly houses, that’s just not true.”

Politics live: Police deny Farage’s claims over Southport stabbings

Ms Rayner announced her shake-up of the planning system on Tuesday, including reinstating mandatory housing targets for England that had been scrapped by Mr Gove amid a backlash from Tory backbenchers.

She pledge to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years and said new rules would require 50% of all new housing to be affordable.

However, she faced anger from shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch, who accused her of giving the go-ahead to build millions of “ugly homes”.

Angela Rayner plays down prospect of Labour MP backlash against housing push – as new towns task force launched

‘Controversial’ new 370,000 a year mandatory housing target announced by government

Angela Rayner: The story behind the UK’s new deputy prime minister

The Tory leadership hopeful added: “People deserve to live in beautiful homes and the fact that the Labour Party doesn’t care about that shows exactly how they are going to develop their policies.”

Asked about the criticism on BBC Radio 2, Ms Rayner said: “This is ridiculous. I mean, ‘beautiful’ is so subjective. But actually within the planning framework, there are a lot of specifications about in-keeping with the local area [already].

“It is about protecting nature and having access to nature, it is about making sure that buildings are safe, they are warm, they are sustainable.

“So there are a number of guidelines and rules that developers have to follow so that actually ‘beautiful’? I mean, ‘beautiful’ means nothing really, it means one thing to one person and another thing to another.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

The housing secretary also claimed so-called “ugly” housing had already fallen through the cracks of the previous government’s plans anyway.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

But she added: “Like I say, all that wording was doing was preventing and blocking development and that’s why we think it is too subjective.

“And actually the guidelines and the rules that are in place mean that there has to be consultation, they have to follow the rules on what the buildings look like, the safety of the buildings, that they in keeping with the area, you know, Yorkshire brick in parts of our mill towns, things like that.

“It means one thing for one area and another for another, so there are rules and protections in place.”

Related posts:

‘Real opportunity’ to ‘open up’ travel for those with two COVID jabs – PM says Terror suspect accused of killing MP is son of former top aide to Somali PM Johnson’s former Brexit minister warns him he has until the autumn to save his premiership Sunak accused of wasting billions by paying too much interest on government debt Can Sunak repair and reunite the Tory party after remarkable political comeback? | Beth Rigby Stormont brake will be veto not delay of EU law in Northern Ireland, minister confirms ‘No decisions’ made on level of compensation for infected blood scandal victims Trump joins Republican presidential candidate rivals at campaign dinner Fiscal headroom, inheritance tax, thresholds – what key autumn statement terms mean Buying own home has ‘got harder’ under Conservatives, Sunak says Farage takes cover on open-top bus as man throws objects at him New defence review will be completed in ‘less than a year’, minister says