Jack Airey

Head of Housing. 2018-2020


Jack lead Policy Exchange’s work on housing. His research has included work on building more beautiful homes and places, improving the planning system; and, new town development on the edge of London. In particular his work on raising housebuilding standards has attracted cross-party support and led to the Government creating the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission. An article in The Economist welcomed Policy Exchange’s work on this subject as pioneering “the biggest idea in housing policy since the sale of council houses under Margaret Thatcher.” Before joining Policy Exchange, Jack was Head of Research at the think tank Localis where he wrote extensively on the role of place in politics and policy, while managing and supporting the development of their research output.

Jack Airey

Related Posts & Publications

Rethinking the Planning System for the 21st Century

Rethinking the Planning System for the 21st Century

by | Jan 27, 2020

Related Content The planning system has little relevance to the country’s 21st century liberalised economy and society facing continuous change. It increases the costs of housing, living and doing business. Although the planning system has regularly been tinkered with...
Can we force developers to sell homes at a discount?

Can we force developers to sell homes at a discount?

by | Nov 26, 2019

Related Content Photo Credit: Images Money The Conservative and Labour manifestos make significant pledges on housing policy. The focus of the Conservatives is supporting people into home-ownership, while the centrepiece of Labour’s manifesto is the pledge that local...
The feasibility of building 150,000 social homes a year

The feasibility of building 150,000 social homes a year

by | Nov 26, 2019

Related Content The Conservative and Labour manifestos make significant pledges on housing policy. The focus of the Conservatives is supporting people into home-ownership, while the centrepiece of Labour’s manifesto is the pledge that local authorities build many more...
Revitalising Key Worker Housing

Revitalising Key Worker Housing

by | Nov 12, 2019

Related Content Many of the most valued and important frontline public sector workers like police officers, teachers, NHS staff and firefighters are struggling to live in or near the community they serve. They often face acute housing affordability challenges which...
The Duty to Build Beautiful

The Duty to Build Beautiful

by | Oct 9, 2019

Related Content A collection of essays on embedding the beauty agenda in policymaking In his first speech as Prime Minister on domestic policy, Boris Johnson said that his Government will, “emphasise the need, the duty, to build beautiful homes that people actually...