Infrastructure investment and planning reform two of 鈥榯hree pillars鈥� of party鈥檚 economic strategy
A Labour government would put planning reform 鈥渁t the very centre鈥� of its economic policy, the shadow chancellor has announced.
In a major speech to business leaders yesterday (Tuesday), Rachel Reeves set out the three pillars of an economic strategy which she said would usher in 鈥渁 new chapter in Britain鈥檚 economic history鈥�.
Delivering the annual Mais Lecture in the City of London, Reeves said the UK was standing at an 鈥渋nflection point鈥� as it had at the end of the 1970s.
She described how her vision for growth would be underpinned by the three pillars of 鈥渟tability鈥�, achieved through monetary policy and financial regulation, 鈥渋nvestment鈥�, largely into infrastructure and the green economy, and 鈥渞eform鈥� of planning and the labour market.
Reeves described the planning system as 鈥渢he single greatest obstacle to our economic success鈥�, making land 鈥渃ostly and inefficiently utilised鈥� and raising the cost of building infrastructure.
鈥淎nd it prevents housing from being built where it is most needed 鈥� contributing to ever-higher prices and falling rates of home ownership and constricting the growth of our most productive places,鈥� she continued.
She said that planning reform had 鈥渂ecome a byword for political timidity in the face of vested interests and a graveyard of economic ambition鈥� but said it was 鈥渢ime to put an end to prevarication and political short-termism on this question鈥�.
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鈥淭here is no other choice. This Labour Party will put planning reform at the very centre of our economic and our political argument,鈥� she added.
Reeves promised a Labour government would deliver a 鈥渙nce-in-a-generation鈥� overhaul of the nationally significant infrastructure regime, updating all National Policy Statements within six months of coming into office.
She also re-iterated Labour鈥檚 plans to reintroduce mandatary local housing targets, recruit hundreds of new planners to tackle backlogs, and bring forward a new generation of New Towns.
Regarding the second pillar, Reeves described the 鈥渟top-go cycle of capital investment鈥� as the 鈥渘ew 鈥楤ritish disease鈥�,鈥� an allusion to the term used to describe the low rates of capital investment and labour productivity experienced by the UK in the 1970s.
鈥淪hort-term instability inhibits investment and drives up infrastructure costs, resulting in fewer, and smaller, new capital projects,鈥� she said.
She said a Labour government would create a new British Infrastructure Council, which she has already established in shadow form with representatives of large UK and global investment funds.
Election focus
As thoughts turn towards the next general election, the UK is facing some serious problems.
Low growth, flatlining productivity, question marks over net zero funding and capability, skills shortages and a worsening housing crisis all amount to a daunting in-tray for the next government.
This year鈥檚 general election therefore has very high stakes for the built environment and the economy as a whole. For this reason,
黑洞社区 is launching its most in-depth election coverage yet, helping the industry to understand the issues in play and helping to amplify construction鈥檚 voice so that the government hears it loud and clear.
We kick off this month with a three-parter looking at the state of play across three key topic areas.
黑洞社区 is investigating the funding gaps facing the next government鈥檚 public sector building programmes, looking at the policy options available to the political parties.
In the coming months our 黑洞社区 Talks podcast will focus on perhaps the hottest political topic: the housing crisis. The podcast will feature interviews with top industry names who side-step soundbites in favour of in-depth discussions.
As the main parties ramp up their policy announcements, we will keep you up to date with their latest pledges on our website through our 鈥減olicy tracker鈥�.
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