Is green belt in the North up for grabs?

I WON'T be "tearing up the green belt", Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told party conference in Liverpool this week, but he does want to change the restrictions on it as he bids to get a grip on the UK's housing crisis.

- ROB PARSONS

According to Sir Keir, who wants to build a host of new towns, "there are clearly ridiculous uses of it, disused car parks, dreary wasteland not a green belt, a grey belt, sometimes within a city's boundary - then this cannot be justified as a reason to hold our future back." 

All of which means if Labour get power at the next General Election, we can expect to see more homes built on the green belt, land with restrictive planning rules designed to - among other things - stop the spread of urban sprawl.

It wraps around 16 of England's towns and cities, including Manchester and Liverpool, with some critics arguing that it favours wealthy people living in countryside towns while preventing the expansion of much-needed housing stock.