Land for the Many? The Politics of Land in the 21st Century

The slow advance of Land Law in England and Wales has been subject to calls for, and attempts at, revolution. Increasing concern around housing inequality and environmental crises have prepared the ground for a frank exchange of ideas, and increased the polarisation between political left and right. For land lawyers, this dichotomy is demonstrated by The ‘Land for the Many’ report, which was commissioned by the British Labour Party, and which contains a number of radical proposals to bring changes to land law and policy. The report draws on Georgist economics to advance a framework of law that, amongst other things, would significantly reform the planning process, support rewilding and divide property wealth more equally. This paper examines this controversial report alongside a history of political rhetoric around the land law of England and Wales. We argue that the greatest threat to the environment and society might not be our current framework of law, but the fact that previous and current political manifestos have promised win-win policies on personal wealth, housing and the environment which could not be delivered.