New British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves yesterday vowed to immediately “fix the foundations” of Britain’s economy, fueled by onshore wind power and house building, after her Labour Party won power.
In her first major speech since being appointed the UK’s first female chancellor of the exchequer by new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Reeves said there was “no time to waste” on reversing “the legacy of 14 years of chaos and economic irresponsibility” under Conservative Party rule.
“We are going to get Britain building again,” she said.
Photo: Reuters
Reeves, 45, takes over as chancellor with Britain’s economy recently out of recession, its inflation rate back to normal levels and as the Bank of England prepares to cut interest rates.
Center-left Labour, which had put growing the UK economy at the heart of its manifesto, won Thursday’s general election with a sizeable majority.
The “new treasury analysis I requested over the weekend exposed the opportunities lost” under the Conservatives, Reeves told business leaders in London.
She said that weak growth meant the UK last year missed out on ￡58 billion (US$74.43 billion) in tax revenue, affecting public services.
However, growing the economy would occur alongside “robust fiscal rules,” with Britain’s debt having ballooned in the past few years owing to huge state spending caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and surging energy prices, she said.
The chancellor said that Labour would double onshore wind energy by 2030, helping the island nation move closer to net zero carbon emissions.
“That means immediately removing the de facto ban on onshore wind in England, in place since 2015,” the Labour government said in a separate statement yesterday.
Reeves also said that she would consult on designating onshore wind projects as “significant infrastructure projects,” meaning planning decisions on those projects would be taken nationally, not locally.
The government would also reform the National Planning Policy Framework, launching a consultation on a growth-focused approach to the planning system before the end of the month, she said.
British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is also responsible for housing policy, would intervene in planning where she believes the regional or national economy would benefit from a development, Reeves said.
The Labour government would also bring back mandatory housing targets, the chancellor said.
They had been ditched by the previous Conservative government in late 2022.
A new task force would be set up to accelerate stalled housing sites, which could speed up developments at several sites across the country where more than 14,000 homes could be built, Reeves said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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