Sean Houlston spoke on Policy@Manchester's flagship housing panel at Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.
The discussion focused on the future of housebuilding, where Sean set out a philosophy of being “pragmatically pro-building” — not just estate building, but community building.
Sean highlighted three priorities for reform:
- Infrastructure first – ensuring roads, schools, surgeries, and broadband are delivered alongside housing, and embracing community density in cities.
- Cutting red tape – simplifying planning and regulation to free SMEs and family builders to deliver.
- Giving communities a stake – empowering councillors and ensuring local people see tangible benefits from new development.
Speaking at the the event, Sean said:
“The truth is simple: builders want to build. Communities want to be the best they can. But they want to do it on their own terms, with pride and ownership, not dictated to by the state.
"We don’t just need to build houses. We need to build trust.”
