UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced on Monday a new investment of GBP1.5 billion (Cdn$2.87 billion) to fund 20,000 new affordable and social homes over the next two years. The investment will generate 45,000 jobs in the construction trades and related sectors, according to the PM. The new investments are on top of planned spending of GBP1.2 billion this year (Cdn$2.3 billion) by the UK government – bringing total investments in new affordable and social homes to more than Cdn$5 billion over the next two years. “We will not walk away from people in challenging times,” said the Prime Minister in a statement in the Commons yesterday. We will continue to fight for a fairer prosperity and a responsible society on the basis of our enduring values. This is not a job just for the Government but for the country as a whole.” He referred to the housing investments, part of a broader government initiative called Building Britain’s Future as “a new economic and constitutional settlement”.