Housing minister Angela Rayner has signalled that she does not expect to meet her pledge to build 1.5 million homes before the next election.

She denied she was abandoning the commitment, but compared achieving it to her chances of “running the London Marathon”.

Ms Rayner added: “This isn’t an excuse, but houses don’t go up in five minutes. I wish they did - it takes time.”

Ms Rayner was reappointed housing minister – the job she was to resign from after a row over whether she dodged stamp duty – when Andy Burnham became prime minister on Monday.

The promise to construct 1.5 homes over the five-year parliamentary term was a key part of Labour’s 2024 election manifesto.

Asked if she was dropping the commitment, Ms Rayner told the BBC: “I’m not dropping it - I’m just saying it’s a really difficult challenge.

“I am going to keep the target but it’s like me saying I’m going to run the London Marathon in under five hours. That would be a real challenge for me but I would do it.”

Ms Rayner said the commitment was ”very challenging” when it was made two years ago – and was even “more challenging” now as a result of increased construction costs and other factors which had had ‘a real negative impact.’

However, Ms Rayner was defiant after it was pointed out to her that in its first two years the government had built fewer than 300,000 homes - well short of the number needed to meet the 1.5 target over five years.

She said: “I’m a straight-talking person, 1.5 homes is a difficult target… but I’m going to keep it, I’m not going to be defeated.

”People have underestimated me all my life. If you tell me I cannot do something I will fight like hell to get it done.”