A Whole Nation Response to Labour's 'Plan for Change'

Co-founder of Whole Nation Conservatives Miranda Jupp is a longstanding North East Conservative activist and former council candidate. Prior to the 2024 General Election she was Chief of Staff to Sir Simon Clarke.

Many of the headlines in Rachel Reeves’ speech yesterday should be welcomed regardless of party politics.

There was explicit recognition that growth is the route to improving people’s lives: it is good for the country that the Labour administration has (at least in words) rejected ideas that growth shouldn’t be a goal which have currency amongst some left wingers. At a minimum lip service was paid to the fact that businesses and entrepreneurship drive growth, and that over-regulation stifles it. The Chancellor acknowledged that the Government needs to build its relationship with the new Trump administration in the US and seek to deepen economic ties in our national interest.

For those of us who have long been champions of the need to make it easier to build things (be that homes, infrastructure or factories), there were plenty of encouraging words - the ambition to streamline the planning process, reduce the burden of consultation processes and reform environmental regulations are genuinely welcome. Introducing a default ‘yes’ to planning applications near railway stations (mirroring suggestions proposed by Conservative former Secretary of State for Housing Simon Clarke way back in 2018 (1)) is a sensible step to deliver homes where infrastructure already exists to support them. Reducing the ability of campaigners to misuse judicial review to block projects is also a positive step. Support for projects such as airport expansion, a new town at Tempsford (where East-West Rail will meet the East Coast Mainline), and working with the private sector to deliver the Lower Thames Crossing should be welcomed across the political spectrum.

However, the cross party agreement and long history of many of these projects, the fact they have not yet been delivered illustrates the scale of the challenge of moving from words to deeds. Sadiq Khan has already spoken out against a third runway at Heathrow. Plans for East-West rail as part of long overdue efforts to improve connectivity between Oxford and Cambridge include extensive bat tunnels (2). It is important that Conservative elected representatives remember how vital growth is for improving lives if they are tempted to dabble in this sort of reactionary NIMBY activity!

There are also question marks about how much yesterday’s speech had to offer regions the North and Midlands (other than support for Andy Burnham’s pet project at Old Trafford). Levelling Up must never become about cutting down tall poppies, so it makes sense to harness the growth potential of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc and expanding Heathrow, though given the business demand full use should be made of private sector investment (and delivery). Additional runway capacity at Heathrow also creates possibilities for improved inter-regional connectivity by opening up more landing slots for domestic flights. Increasing reservoir capacity and hence potential for housing growth in areas where there is most intense demand is sensible. But there was little mention of the practical steps towards energy abundance which would unlock opportunities for the industries of the future to grow in parts of the country with untapped potential, or measures which would enable the private sector to spread growth around the regions of the UK. It was encouraging to see Kevin Hollinrake, Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government highlight the need to look at frozen Northern infrastructure projects in his response (3) and the Conservatives should build on this theme.

There is also an enormous elephant in the room which those who truly believe in the power of private enterprise should continue to highlight. The decisions in the Autumn budget around increased Employers NI contributions and increased inheritance tax liabilities on family businesses and farms are already damaging jobs and growth, with thousands of retail job cuts announced in recent weeks. Removing long term barriers to growth, which will benefit the economy over the coming decades, cannot counteract the harm of anti-growth tax raids and this is a message which Mel Stride is right to continue returning to as Shadow Chancellor (4).

References

1. https://www.thinkhouse.org.uk/site/assets/files/1557/clark.pdf

2. https://tomharwood.substack.com/p/the-other-bat-tunnel

3. https://x.com/kevinhollinrake/status/1884725964510224753

4. https://x.com/MelJStride/status/1884632350601949465