I was much cheered to see that, within a week of assuming power, the new Chancellor had invited some of the great and the good from the built environment to Number 11 for a coffee and a chat. Representatives from the likes of Berkeley, Barratt, Taylor Wimpey, Skanska, Jacobs and Mace, plus several energy companies and even Sir John Armitt had over an hour with Rachel Reeves.

Apparently, there was no talk of new infrastructure spending but, since housebuilding was at the heart of the King’s Speech, it is no coincidence that housebuilders would appear to have dominated the invitation list. Labour has already said that it sees the private sector providing the 1.5m homes over five years that it wants to build, so it seems shrewd to get them onside at an early stage.