Chancellor Rachel Reeves has made her first major speech in the role today, speaking to business leaders about prioritising house building to build economic growth
Rachel Reeves met with finance and green industry business leaders today, where she outlined Labour’s plans to kickstart economic growth through planning reform and boosted house building.
The new Chancellor plans to bring back house building targets and review the National Planning Policy Framework to further unlock infrastructure and private investment.
Reeves will vow to “fix the foundations of Britain’s economy”
Notes from her speech shared ahead of the event include: ““Last week, the British people voted for change. And over the past 72 hours I have begun the work necessary to deliver on that mandate. Our manifesto was clear: ‘Sustained economic growth is the only route to improving the prosperity of our country and the living standards of working people.’
“Where governments have been unwilling to take the difficult decisions to deliver growth – or have waited too long to act – I will deliver.
“It is now a national mission. There is no time to waste.”
“This morning I want to outline the first steps this new government has taken to fix the foundations of our economy, so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of our country better off.
“We face the legacy of fourteen years of chaos and economic irresponsibility.
“It falls to this new Government to fix the foundations.”
Reform must balance housing targets with sustainable methods
Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth, said: “Along with the many other interlinked crises Britain is facing, including the climate emergency, the housing crisis is close to breaking point and deserves to be one of the top priorities of the new government.
“Millions more homes are needed, most of which should be social housing or genuinely affordable, but boosting housing numbers needn’t be in opposition to protecting the environment. New homes can and should be designed so they’re energy and water efficient, fitted with solar panels and heat pumps, resilient to future climate extremes, and located within close range of amenities and quality green space.
“In terms of the green belt, much of what borders many towns and cities isn’t exactly a haven for wildlife thanks to intensive farming – but it does serve a vital purpose of preventing urban sprawl. Building on it should be a last resort and any nature-depleted greenbelt land must be restored and made accessible to communities no matter its use.
“But with the majority of homes we’ll need as the planet warms already built, Labour must ensure it approaches upgrading our existing housing stock with the same vigour as its building programme. Rolling out a national programme of insulation would help to cut bills, keep people warmer in winter, and drastically reduce the amount of carbon unleashed into the atmosphere.”
The new Chancellor also promised to lift the onshore wind ban in England. Mr Childs added:
“By ending the onshore wind ban in England, Labour is making an important stride towards delivering on our climate goals, while also paving the way for lower bills, as renewables produce some of the cheapest and cleanest energy available.
“In April, research by Friends of the Earth found that utilising less than 3% of land in England for onshore wind and solar could produce 13 times more clean energy that currently generated – enough to power all households in England twice over. By harnessing the country’s vast renewable power potential, the new government is staking its claim as a global leader in the green energy transition.”
RICS urged Rachel Reeves to consider energy infrastructure
“It is clear the current planning system is not fit for purpose and we welcome reform to the National Planning Policy Framework to help meet our future housing and energy needs. This includes 300 new planners, which is very welcomed but in reality, represents roughly one extra person per planning authority and it is essential we don’t just recruit, but retain these highly-skilled planners. But this must also be partnered with planning authorities to producing updated housing plans to reflect this new target and justify their housing development strategy.
“We welcome the government’s announcement on the Grey Belt, a plan which may yield around 100,000 to 200,000 houses. However, a holistic, rather than piecemeal, approach for the Green Belt is required to provide access to green infrastructure, protect biodiversity, and recognize the economic need for urban growth. It must also reflect the constrained capacity of our energy infrastructure, which is increasingly blocking housing production, and RICS is calling for urgent investment in our electrical grid capacity to help support our future housing and infrastructure needs.
“All of these elements will need to be tackled in a coordinated manner and this will be particularly pertinent in Labour’s quest to achieve economic growth. Many studies have agreed on the positive correlation between GDP growth and the availability of homes. If housing delivery is backloaded towards the end of parliament, then the electorate may not see benefits quickly enough.
