Exclusive: Housing secretary wants billions more to meet new-homes target but chancellor is set to limit spending

Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves are at loggerheads over a major programme of social housebuilding, in the latest sign of cabinet tensions over this month’s budget.

Rayner, the housing secretary, has been pushing Reeves, the chancellor, for billions of pounds more for affordable housing, which she argues will be needed to hit Labour’s target of building 1.5m new homes across five years.