Ditching Jenrick's 'mutant algorithm' is a win for localism | Simon Jenkins

The government’s centralised planning formula for new houses would have made Lenin blush. This U-turn is welcome

Planning secretary Robert Jenrick’s climbdown over his planning white paper is welcome. Its core proposal for houses to be built according to a Whitehall formula – the so-called “mutant algorithm” – emerged in August reputedly at the bidding of the building lobby, eager to boost their development land-banks in the south-east. It has collapsed under a barrage of protest from southern To...