‘We’ll make tough decisions,’ Reeves declares in speech as Labour targets Green Belt for building thousands of homes
RACHEL Reeves insisted she won’t shy away from making the “tough decisions” needed to boost growth as she announced plans to build millions of homes.
The Chancellor used her first major speech in the job to unveil a series of planning reforms and set out a “national mission” to deliver growth.
She announced an immediate end to the “absurd” ban on new onshore wind developments in England.
And said her Government would build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years while relaxing planning restrictions on building on parts of the green belt.
She also pledged to bring back mandatory housebuilding targets.
Vowing to get “Britain building again”, the Chancellor acknowledged there would be opposition to her reforms.
She said: “I know that there will be opposition to this. I’m not naive to that.
“And we must acknowledge that trade offs always exist.
“Any development may have environmental consequences, place pressure on services, and rouse voices of local opposition.
“But we will not succumb to a status quo…
“This Labour Government has been elected to get things done to get Britain building again.”
Elsewhere during her speech, Ms Reeves promised investors “Britain is a place to do business”.
She said she has received a report into the new National Wealth fund from a task force led by Mark Carney, the former Bank of England governor, and will be revealing her next steps soon.
Labour’s economic plans include a new national wealth fund to deliver private and public investment, as well as the development of a 10-year infrastructure strategy.
Responding to a question from the media later on, Ms Reeves said: “I think you can see today that I mean business.
“We’re getting on with the work that’s needed to unlock that growth.”
She also revealed the date for the Government’s first budget will be announced before the Commons’ summer recess.
Sir Keir Starmer‘s administration has made economic growth – and the tax revenue that would flow from it – a key plank of his strategy to fund our crippling public services.
The Conservatives pledged in 2019 to reach a target of 300,000 new homes a year – with mandatory building targets for all local authorities.
But a Tory backbench rebellion last year forced former Housing Secretary Michael Gove to water them down.
He rewrote the National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF) making the targets advisory rather than mandatory.
Labour’s manifesto pledged to “immediately” rewrite the NPPF “to undo damaging Conservative changes, including restoring mandatory housing targets”.
It said that while local communities will continue to “shape house building in their area”, Labour would “not be afraid to make full use of intervention powers to build the houses we need”.