The first-ever female Chancellor echoed the Labour manifesto’s promise to “deliver economic stability” in the hope that taxes, inflation and mortgages will remain “as low as possible”.
Reeves told business leaders and reporters gathered at the Treasury: “I emphasised this commitment in a meeting with the Governor of the Bank of England on Friday, and I will do the same when I meet the chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) this week.
“These institutions are guarantors of our economic stability and I will not be playing games at their expense.”
This means the plans outlined in the Labour manifesto not to raise National Insurance or VAT will remain.
Elsewhere, while not disclosing any future changes to the pension triple lock, Reeves added the Government will address the pension system. This will be to “drive investment in homegrown businesses and deliver greater returns to pension savers”.
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Reeves added: “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.”
She said: “Had the UK economy grown at the average rate of OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] economies since 2010, it would have been over £140bn larger.
“This could have brought in an additional £58bn in tax revenues last year alone to sustain our public services. It falls to this new Government to fix the foundations.”
‘Planning reform at centre of political argument’
In her first major speech since Labour won last Friday’s general election, the Chancellor also committed to “put planning reform at the centre of [Government’s] political argument”.
This would be through a shake-up of the national planning policy framework, in which plans for a new “growth-focused” system would be in place by the end of July.
Reeves also said the Government would restore compulsory housing targets and create a new taskforce across the country, starting in Liverpool, Worcester, Northstowe and Sutton Caulfield, where 14,000 homes will be unlocked.
As well as new houses built for future homeowners, the housing secretary Angela Rayner will be encouraged to review planning applications if regional and national economies warrant it.
The new deputy Prime Minister will also write to local mayors and to the Office for Investment to “ensure that any investment opportunity with important planning considerations that comes across their desks is brought to her attention and also to mine”.
Rayner will also contact local planning authorities “making clear what will now be expected of them, including universal coverage of local plans and reviews of greenbelt boundaries”.
Reeves told journalists in a Q&A session after her speech that “this Labour Government wants to be the party of homeownership, but we also know that affordable housing, including housing for social rent, is an important part of the mix”.
‘Vital that local and central Government are united’
David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt Developments, said: “We welcome the Government’s commitment to reform of the planning system and their drive for growth.
“Building more new homes will bring huge economic and social benefits to the UK, and it is vital that local and central Government are united with industry to plan positively to deliver high-quality new homes and developments across the country.”
Thomas added: “The country urgently needs more new homes, of all types and tenures. We look forward to working with the new Government to help them build 1.5m homes across the next Parliament, unlocking planning and helping first-time buyers access affordable finance, ultimately helping more families own a high-quality, sustainable, new home.”
This article features reporting from our sister site, Mortgage Solutions, first published here.
