I'm a Tory where we lost by 214 votes - if Labour do this one thing they won't last long

The war to save England’s beautiful leafy communities is very much on.

At least that will be the battle cry from Tories the length and breadth of the country after hearing Rachel Reeves’ plans to reinstate mandatory housing targets and hand developers more power to steamroll ahead with indiscriminate housebuilding.

If Labour don’t want to quickly haemorrhage the backing of voters in more traditionally blue areas, some of whom voted for them for the very first time, Keir Starmer and Reeves must proceed with caution from here on in.

Call me a NIMBY if you like, but I have to be clear: I am most certainly not against housebuilding. The fact that many can’t step onto the property ladder until they’re in their 40s is a total disgrace - and absurdly anti Conservative. In fact I’d go as far to say owning your own home and stake in society is a cornerstone of Conservatism.

However, it’s essential that this development is done in the right way. As a councillor who often objects to planning applications on behalf of my residents, I have direct experience of what happens when it isn’t.

By far and away the most burning fury from residents comes in response to the large-scale building of cookie-cutter houses that are slung up with no proper supporting infrastructure - be that new schools, GP surgeries or better roads.

Voters are also more likely to be upset if the new homes don’t match the needs of local residents - for example more starter homes or bungalows for elderly residents.

The last time Labour was in control of our council, money was promised to areas like mine from developers as part of a planning agreement for a vast new estate. The cash, however, was merely a bung wafted in the face of objecting residents and it later magically disappeared and was moved away from its original purpose to fund more "worthy" projects in totally different parts of town. Communities like mine were left to suffer the consequences.

When promises like that are broken, it’s so easy to see how the anger quickly builds. It was only under a Conservative MP and independently-run council that the tide was turned in my area.

Currently Rachel Reeves is suggesting that local authorities will be given arbitrary targets to meet - which in my neck of the woods will simply give free rein for greedy developers to shove ugly new homes on every inch of spare green space, with very little regard for those living nearby.

Of course it’ll be developers’ preference to build on the greenbelt or in more aspirational areas rather than prioritising building on brownfield land as Reeves insists Labour will do.

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland - the constituency where I live - has just elected a Labour MP with an absolute slither of a majority, standing at just 214 votes. I fiercely believe if the new MP - and his Government - get their aims for hugely increased house building wrong - they’ll suffer greatly at the next election in constituencies like mine.

Approval and the subsequent building of a large new estate is a lengthy process. The next election could be when any hasty decisions come back home to roost. And when there’s that little in it, not keeping communities at the heart of those decisions would be foolish. Very foolish indeed.