Leasehold ban in England and Wales unlikely before next general election, minister says
A ban on new leasehold properties in England and Wales is unlikely to come into force until after the next election, the housing minister has said, as he defended the government’s piecemeal attempts to dismantle the system.The long-promised end would take years to “switch on”, Matthew Pennycook said, even though the ban of leaseholds on new houses was passed in 2024 and the government intends to pass one on new flats soon.Pennycook was giving a speech defending the government’s approach to bringing a de facto end to the feudal-era system after years of complaints from leaseholders about crippling service charges and crumbling buildings.He said the process needed to be rolled out slowly to avoid undermining housing supply and falling into legal pitfalls.“I think it’s highly likely that we don’t switch on the ban in this parliament,” he told reporters afterwards.
“It’s really complex, and so what we really want to do on all of these fronts is have all the primary legislation that we need to end leasehold in place … but switching on the ban involves some really quite complex trade-offs with housing supply.”Referring to the government consultation on the issue, he added: “What we’re trying to get through this consultation is: what’s the commencement date where we’ve got everyone lined up in a way that the transition is going to be really smooth? That’s our objective.”Pennycook has promised to end the leasehold system since he was in opposition, telling the Guardian last year he intended to bring it to an end before the next election.As part of its overall package of reforms, the government is planning to ban the sale of new leasehold homes, cap ground rents, encourage residents to convert their existing leasehold homes to commonhold, which allows flat owners to own and manage their buildings jointly, and bring in measures to boost shared ownership schemes.Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, has accused the government of U-turning on its election pledge to end leasehold, putting the issue at the heart of his local election campaign.
Pennycook told an audience in London that bringing an immediate end to the system, which is almost unique to this country, was impossible.“Those advocating for such an approach cannot answer how it would be lawful, how the impact on the mortgage market would be managed, how it would even be feasible for the land registry to delete millions of leasehold and freehold titles and replace them with commonhold ones overnight,” he said.“While our detractors will continue to cry betrayal, and opportunistic populist parties will continue to try to sell false promises to hard-pressed leaseholders across the country, we will continue with the hard graft of doing what is necessary to bring the system to an orderly end in this parliament.”Harry Scoffin, the founder of the campaign group Free Leaseholders, said: “With developers resorting to free furniture and two-year service charge holidays to lure people into buying their new leasehold flats, foot-dragging is only going to worsen the housing crisis.”
Cricket Australia’s BBL sell-off on hold after Queensland joins NSW in rejecting plans
Cricket Australia’s plan to sell off stakes in the eight Big Bash League franchises has been placed on hold after Queensland joined New South Wales in rejecting the original privatisation proposal.Queensland Cricket, which controls BBL side Brisbane Heat, has backed Cricket NSW’s opposition to CA’s plan to sell up to 49% of each franchise to private owners, with valuations of up to $200m per team.The Victorian, Western Australian and Tasmanian cricket associations have shown support for the BBL privatisation plans, while South Australia is open to the idea for other states but wants to maintain control of the Adelaide Strikers for the time being.The revolt from two state associations leaves the future of the T20 league up in the air from the 2027-28 season, as CA begins to consider alternative options.CA chief executive Todd Greenberg said he would have gone ahead with testing the market if five of the six states had supported the privatisation proposal
AFL player Nathan O’Driscoll opens up on depression and mental health struggles
The family and teammates of Nathan O’Driscoll have expressed love and support for the Fremantle midfielder after he posted an unfiltered account on social media of his mental health challenges.The 23-year-old, who has played just twice this year for his home town club the Dockers, shared on Instagram that he has come close to taking his life three times, and that recent weeks have been especially challenging after the death of someone close to him.“I’m sharing this because speaking up matters. No one is there to judge you, every person I’ve opened up to has supported me in ways I never expected,” he said.“From the outside, it might look like I have everything, but what’s going on internally can be a very different story
LIV Golf poised to inform players that Saudi funding will end this year
LIV Golf executives are poised to confirm to players that Saudi Arabia’s funding of the circuit will cease at the end of 2026, in a move that will begin a scramble between some leading names in the sport to return to traditional tours.Without an alternative and unlikely funding source from 2027 onwards, LIV in its current form is staring at closure just four years on from staging its first tournament. Nothing has materially changed for LIV in recent weeks yet formal admission of an upcoming Saudi exit will be viewed as a key moment in a disruption story that is heading towards a messy finale.The Saudi Public Investment Fund, which has ploughed more than $5bn (£3.7bn) into LIV, informed the tour’s management of a change in approach during meetings in New York immediately after the conclusion of this month’s Masters
Wales great George North to retire from rugby union at end of the season
Think of George North and two iconic moments inevitably stand out. Both took place on the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour when he was just 21 years old. Few northern hemisphere players have made a bigger top-level impact at a more tender age than the departing North, who announced on Wednesday he was retiring from all rugby at the end of this season.The first indelible image occurred in Brisbane in the first Test against Australia. North was inside his own half when he fielded a kick from Berrick Barnes and set off on the kind of surging run that gets longer with every breathless retelling
Revamped Maroons undergo radical reset to take 2026 State of Origin fight to Blues | Jack Snape
Queensland’s greatest player has been jettisoned and backup has been called in from across the ditch. The side has a new-look halves pairing, as many as five State of Origin debutants, and a new coach.Against New South Wales – the holders of the Women’s Origin shield after their comprehensive victory in 2025 – the Maroons have undergone a radical reset. Back to the drawing board? Try again. New coach Nathan Cross is on his way to Officeworks, imagining a whole new fit-out
Sticking with same players for Women’s T20 World Cup leaves England in a twist | Raf Nicholson
Insanity, they say, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. England’s head coach, Charlotte Edwards, is perfectly sane, but on Tuesday she announced a squad for the home T20 World Cup that starts on 12 June almost exactly the same as the one that surrendered the Ashes, by a score of 16-0, 15 months ago. The optics are dreadful.For anyone who has followed England closely over the past year, the conservatism of Edwards and her selection panel comes as no surprise. Last summer, the main selection news was that Kate Cross – who did not play in the Ashes due to injury – was discarded
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