News

Construction industry hopes Labour landslide will bring stability

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The construction industry has reacted optimistically but cautiously after the Labour Party swept to a landslide victory in the general election. As Keir Starmer takes power after a period of rising prices, rising interest rates and geopolicital instability, more than half (52 per cent) of construction professionals polled by data…

Looking back: key construction themes over 14 years of Tory rule

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It’s official: after 14 years, the Conservative Party’s time in government has ended. Five prime ministers, 16 construction ministers and 16 housing ministers on, what will we remember as the party’s biggest legacy for construction? Austerity The coalition government led by David Cameron (pictured on the right) first took the…

Mace director elected to parliament

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Mace senior executive Mike Reader has been elected to parliament as a Labour MP. Reader won his Northampton South constituency by 4,071 votes over the incumbent Conservative candidate, in a swing of 7.6 per cent. In his victory speech, he said: “We are realistic about the scale of the challenges…

Construction fatalities 70% worse than five years ago

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Construction worker fatalities in the UK are 70 per cent higher than before the Covid pandemic, according to the latest annual statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Data for the year to 31 March 2024 showed that 51 construction workers died in accidents – 37 per cent of…

Building trade body manager bids to become MP

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A manager at the National Federation of Builders (NFB) is vying to become a member of parliament in today’s general election. Sean Houlston, who manages membership services at the trade body, is standing for the Conservative Party in the newly-created constituency of Widnes and Halewood in Cheshire. Houlston describes himself…

Output rises again in June despite housing drop-off 

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UK construction activity grew for the fourth consecutive month in June, according to a leading metric.  The industry registered activity of 52.2 on the S&P Global UK Construction Purchase Manager’s Index (PMI) last month – above the no-change mark of 50.  S&P said the reading “signalled a sustained improvement in…

Multiplex towers above rest in June league table

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A “one-of-a kind” City of London skyscraper has taken Multiplex to the top of the monthly contracts league for the second time in a year. The £480m Fifty Fenchurch Street contract makes the Australian multinational the highest-winning contractor in June, according to data provider Glenigan. Standing 36-storeys high, the tower…

New contractor for stalled Ilke site

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A local housebuilder is set to take over an affordable housing scheme that stalled after modular housebuilder Ilke Homes went into administration. Midlands-based Morro Partnerships was appointed by Jigsaw Homes on the £20.6m Birch Fields scheme in Nottingham and will start work this month, a year after the project was…