‘Labour must soar past Britain’s blockers and build a runway to growth’

Following the Government’s public call earlier this year for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, proposals are due later this week.

For too long, our only hub airport and gateway to growth has been held back by overzealous quangos and regulators, restrictive planning laws that back blockers rather than builders, and successive governments unwilling to take the decisions that are truly in our national interest. Despite these barriers, Heathrow today is an example of British success, connecting people and businesses to the rest of the world as our largest port by value and consistently one of the highest performing airports on punctuality in Europe. However, it is only this Labour Government that will go further and unlock Heathrow’s potential.

Our national prosperity has been held back by dither and delay, needless red tape, and successive governments unwilling to take the decisions necessary to deliver for working people across the United Kingdom and turbocharge the economy. But the benefits of that growth must be tangible and felt in people’s pockets; the public will not reward growth if they do not feel it themselves.

‘Now is the time to face down the blockers’

For Labour to deliver, backing growth must mean backing businesses up and down the country to scale-up and train-up. It must mean delivering new towns and new homes to revive the dream of home ownership for young people. And it must mean ensuring the proceeds of growth flow through to investment in improving public services across the country.

Now is the time to face down the blockers, go further for growth, and deliver national prosperity for working people. It is why our Labour Government has greenlit and announced a multi-billion investment in Sizewell C in Suffolk, which will create 10,000 new jobs and apprenticeships, while the SNP Government has failed Scottish workers by refusing to back nuclear energy.

READ MORE: ‘How to fight Reform and un-cancel the future – lessons from Sheffield’

Expanding Heathrow not only represents this Government’s ambition to remove barriers to new infrastructure. It will underpin Britain’s international competitiveness, unlocking new trade routes, attracting investment, and enabling British businesses, including Scotland’s world class scotch whisky industry, to trade around the world. And it will underpin our modern industrial strategy – enabling our world leading health and life sciences, advanced engineering and technology companies to connect with customers across the globe. A third runway at Heathrow, a regulatory regime that backs growth, and a planning system that backs the builders will get Britain back on track.

That’s why our Labour Government has been fast-tracking the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to deliver the airports, homes, datacentres and energy infrastructure that will power our future. Our planning system has said “no” to growth for too long. We are determined to give businesses the certainty they need to invest and build. We will end the era of protracted judicial reviews that stop ministers taking decisions to back growth. And this is why we are working with regulators like the Civil Aviation Authority to create new approaches which will unlock the billions of private capital needed to expand Heathrow.

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‘Labour is ending the cycle of dither and delay’

Still, we must not underestimate the challenge at hand. As a country, our economic growth has been anaemic since the 2008 financial crisis. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor understand this and are committed to going faster and further to deliver the growth we need.

To that end, the Government’s quangos review will take decisive action to abolish and merge those quangos and regulators that delay decisions, duplicate purpose, and undermine economic growth. Just one example is the action we have already taken to ensure economic regulators like the CMA are promoting growth and innovation to the benefit of consumers, while attracting investment in critical technologies, including AI and cloud computing, which the future of our economy and public services depend on. The result must be a regulatory regime that makes it easier to build and invest in Britain.

The cost of inaction by previous governments has been seen not just in undelivered road, rail, airport and energy infrastructure or lost investment in critical sectors. It has resulted in young people unable to realise the dream of home ownership, start-up and scale-up businesses unable to thrive, and public services unable to benefit from the proceeds of growth.

Labour is ending the cycle of dither and delay. We are getting Britain building. And we are determined to ensure people, businesses and communities across the country both see and feel the benefits of growth.

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