Chancellor Rachel Reeves has backed a third runway at London’s Heathrow airport as part of a fresh plan to get the UK’s sluggish economy growing.
She said Heathrow expansion, which has been delayed for decades over environmental concerns, would “make Britain the world’s best connected place to do business”.
In a wide-ranging speech to business leaders, she also backed expansions at Luton and Gatwick airports, as well as a “growth corridor” between Oxford and Cambridge, which she claimed could be “Europe’s Silicon Valley”.
The Conservatives said the biggest barrier to growth was Reeves’ “job destroying Budget”, which had hit businesses with National Insurance increases.
Reeves claimed in her speech the measures were needed to “restore economic stability” and she had “no alternative”.
But she said she now wanted to go “further and faster” to boost economic growth and act with the “courage” she said was lacking from previous governments.
The UK is a country of “huge potential” but “for too long, that potential has been held back”, the chancellor said.
Growth has flatlined since Labour took power – but Reeves made it clear that without it, the party’s plans to boost living standards and improve public services would not succeed.
She said: “Low growth is not our destiny, but growth will not come without a fight, without a government willing to take the right decisions now to change our country’s future for the better.”
Other projects announced include a major redevelopment of Old Trafford, the area around a new stadium for Manchester United, and a plan to bring Doncaster/Sheffield airport back into use.
Many of the projects she announced are unlikely to be completed before the next general election.
But Labour is hoping they will send a signal to business and consumers that the government is serious about growth.
She said: “For too long, politicians have lacked the courage or the strength to confront these challenges.
“When presented with a choice, they have not prioritised growth. Instead, they have accepted the status quo and they have been the barrier, not the enablers of change.”
The third runway at Heathrow has yet to receive planning permission and is likely to face fierce opposition from environmental campaigners, as well as some senior Labour figures such as London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
But Reeves said she wanted to see a full proposal for expanding the airport by the summer and was determined to see it built.
And she said new powers in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill would cut years off the length periods it has taken to get major infrastructure projects off the ground.
One of the most ambitious schemes involve rail and road links to cut the journey time between Oxford and Cambridge, as well as new reservoirs to address water shortages.
Reeves claimed the new “growth corridor” would add up to £78bn to the UK economy by 2035.
The government will also review the so-called Green Book rules – guidance issued by the Treasury on how to appraise policies, programmes and projects – which it said have in the past biased infrastructure spending to already fast growing areas, mainly in the south.
