Speaking on the latest episode of the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) podcast, Cleverly described the 1.5 million homes pledge as “nonsense”, claiming that repeatedly stating the target would not, by itself, result in more homes being built. He argued that policymakers should focus on supporting the businesses responsible for delivering new housing.

The shadow housing secretary condemned the gap between political ambition and housing delivery, telling podcast host Iona Stewart-Richardson: “One of the problems with politics is everybody wants to be an architect. No one wants to be a builder. Bright ideas are really, really good but someone’s got to put them into practice. If we don’t recognise and reward the people that get stuff done, all that ends up happening is we talk about getting stuff done but don’t get anything done.”

The Conservative MP also criticised what he sees as a disconnect between political ambition and delivery, warning that housing targets will remain out of reach unless greater emphasis is placed on skills, construction capacity and supporting the firms building new homes.

Cleverly further argued that the UK has failed to properly value skilled trades for many years, suggesting that a lack of recognition for vocational careers has contributed to labour shortages across the construction sector and hindered efforts to increase housebuilding.

He continued: “As a society we have lost our respect for skillfulness. There was a big thing about university, a proper job is where you wear a suit and sit in front of a computer. That’s right for the people it’s right for. But it’s not right for everybody. I can see no credible reason why we shouldn’t attribute the same level of collective respect for people in the building trade as we do for people in the armed forces.”

Cleverly also set out the Conservative Party’s plans to scrap stamp duty, which he described as a “drag anchor on the British economy” with both a direct financial and psychological effect on homebuyers.

“When people move, they do stuff. They have an extension, get some repair work done, redo a kitchen or a bathroom. And the stuff that they do tends to be the work of small to medium local building firms rather than the big national building firms.”

He said: “Employee rights only affect people that have got a job. We’re seeing unemployment going in the wrong direction — the number of payroll jobs has dropped by about 180,000 since Labour took office.”

Cleverly also backed the FMB’s Licence to Build campaign, which calls for mandatory licensing of builders to tackle rogue traders: “Organisations like yours are absolutely the kind of thing the government should be supporting and listening to. You want to make sure that the building trade has got a reputation for being professional,” he told the podcast host.

Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, commented: “It was fantastic to have Sir James on the podcast to share his knowledge of the sector and discuss issues affecting our members. The shadow housing secretary has identified the right problems: a skills crisis rooted in decades of undervaluing trades, a housing target that no one in the industry believes is deliverable and a tax and regulatory environment that is squeezing small building firms, like our members out of business.”