Brendon's Story

Brendon, 29, from Lewisham North in London, wanted to retrain in construction to help build the homes his community desperately needs. Training providers across London had unfilled places on their courses, while local housing targets remained unmet. But HM Treasury's approach to infrastructure spending meant that CITB levy funding wasn't directed to areas with the greatest housing need. Central government treats construction investment as a deficit risk rather than recognizing it as the mechanism that puts skilled workers into jobs building homes that already have planning permission. The workers were available, the training capacity existed, but Westminster's fiscal ideology blocked the connection. This episode explores how monetary sovereignty could unleash Britain's construction potential. Blocked Britain is crowdfunded journalism investigating how economic policy choices trap individuals and communities.