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Labour will examine every ongoing major infrastructure project to “get Britain building again on day one” after it wins a general election, Rachel Reeves has said.

The shadow chancellor said that Louise Haigh, her front bench colleague responsible for transport, will also commission an independent expert inquiry into the HS2 fiasco “to learn lessons for the future”.

Politics Live: Rachel Reeves vows to ‘rebuild Britain’

In a speech at the Labour Party conference, Ms Reeves said the high-speed rail line was not the only project that had gone over time and over budget, with others at risk of not being delivered.

She said: “When it comes to getting things built… Britain has become the sick man of Europe, with HS2 coming in at 10-times the cost of the French equivalent.

“And that is why our shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, will commission an independent expert inquiry into HS2 to learn the lessons for the future because many more major government capital projects are over time, over budget and are in danger of going undelivered.”

As well as the inquiry, Labour said it will act to prevent a repeat of HS2 by creating a new cross-government unit to keep major infrastructure projects under control.

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The unit would be responsible for ensuring projects are delivered on time and on budget and report directly to the prime minister and the chancellor.

Ms Reeves said ahead of this, she had asked Darren Jones, the shadow treasury minister, to work with industry experts “to examine line by line every major capital project”.

This would help “make sure that on day one of a Labour government, we are ready to get Britain building again”.

“If The Tories won’t build, if the Tories can’t build, then we will,” she said.

Ms Reeves went on to to explain Labour’s proposals to reform Britain’s “antiquated planning system” to speed up the building of crucial infrastructure.

This includes fast-tracking planning applications for battery factories, laboratories and 5G infrastructure as well as setting out clearer national guidance for developers on consulting local communities to avoid the prospect of litigation.

The former Bank of England economist – who has faced calls from unions for bolder economic policies – insisted the plans would attract the private investment needed to grow the economy, which she claimed had stalled because of “the chaos and instability of this Conservative government”.

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Starmer urged to be less timid

She said Labour will aim to restore investment as a share of Britain’s GDP to the level it was when the party was last in power, bringing the UK in line with international peers and adding an additional £50 billion to GDP every single year.

To help achieve this she said a Labour government would “provide catalytic investment” through its previously proposed state owned National Wealth Fund, and will seek three pounds of private investment for every pound they put in it.

Ms Reeves also set out a series of measures to tackle the waste of taxpayers’ money including:

• A crackdown on the use of private planes by ministers, which she announced with a jibe at Mr Sunak, suggesting his love of flying was because he was scared of meeting voters;
• Cutting government consultancy spending by half in the first term, and requiring government departments to make a value for money case if they want to use consultants;
• Establishing a COVID corruption commissioner to chase those who made fraudulent claims for support during the pandemic.

In another policy announcement, she said Labour will raise the stamp duty surcharge on overseas buyers to fund Labour’s plans to build more homes and boost homeownership.

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Ms Reeves ended her speech by saying “Labour will fight this election on the economy”, and repeating the need for fiscal discipline to boost growth.

She said the question for voters will be the Ronald Reagan question of the 1980 US presidential election, “do you and your family feel better off than you did 13 years ago?”

However Chancellor Jeremy Hunt criticised her for failing to mention inflation in her speech once, calling this the “single biggest issue facing the economy”.

And the SNP’s Economy spokesperson, Drew Hendry MP said that “just like the Tories, the Labour Party’s vision for Scotland fails to offer households any meaningful support during this Westminster-made cost of living crisis”.

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Trade war: UK car exporter’s shares slump to four-year low

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Trade war: UK car exporter's shares slump to four-year low

A UK-based car distributor has seen its shares hit a four-year low after reporting a fall in sales and warning of hits ahead from Donald Trump’s trade war.

Inchcape, which exports cars for manufacturers across more than 40 countries globally, saw its stock lose up to 16.9% in early trading on Wednesday after its first quarter trading update.

It told investors that while it was not currently experiencing damage from the Trump administration’s 25% tariffs on all US car imports, revenue fell by 5% over the three months to March to £2.1bn.

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Inchcape reported a resilient performance from its Americas division but struggles in its Asia-Pacific and European markets.

The period was dominated by trade war fears generally as the US president’s second term got under way and was marked by a surge in demand for goods in the US in a bid to beat any tariffs he threatened to impose.

Inchcape blamed the revenue decline on a strong comparable period in 2024 and “mixed market momentum”, led by that dash for shipments to the US to beat the imposition of any additional US duties.

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They were universally imposed earlier this month, but Mr Trump has since signalled that some exemptions may soon be applied.

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There are fears that a prolonged period of trade disruption could result in job losses within the UK car industry and its supply chain.

Inchcape reaffirmed its 2025 guidance but said that excluded any impacts from tariffs.

Its actions to mitigate the effects included a focus on costs and inventory.

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Chief executive Duncan Tait said: “Demand is not currently being impacted by the tariff situation, although we do expect to see potential impacts on supply from our OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), the competitive environment, and market demand.

“We are taking proactive steps to support our key stakeholders, including taking a conservative approach to managing inventory levels, ensuring we remain disciplined on costs, focusing on cash generation and maintaining our strong balance sheet.”

Shares had recovered some poise by mid-morning, trading down by just over 7% following the initial slump.

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Audio technology group Waves hello to £300m London float

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Audio technology group Waves hello to £300m London float

An audio technology business used by many of the world’s leading musicians is plotting a £300m City flotation in a boost to London’s flagging stock market.

Sky News has learnt that Waves Audio, which is headquartered in Israel, has hired bankers to oversee an initial public offering which could take place as soon as June.

The company, which is majority-owned by founders Meir Sha’ashua and Gilad Keren, is expected to raise millions of pounds from the sale of new shares, although the details have yet to be finalised.

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Panmure Liberum has been appointed to work on the float.

Waves Audio makes professional digital audio signal processing technology and audio effects used in recordings, mixing, mastering, post-production, broadcasting and live sound.

It employs more than 200 people, and has a major international presence, including in Europe and the US.

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A board is said to be being assembled to support Waves Audio’s transition to being a public company.

A successful float on London’s main market would be a relative rarity given the depressed level of IPO activity in recent months.

Data compiled by EY, the professional services firm, showed that there were just five new listings on the London market in the first quarter of the year.

Scott McCubbin, EY UKI IPO leader, said this month: “The IPO market thrives on stability, but ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical instability continues to subdue listing activity in the UK. Following the announcement of US trade tariffs, we’ve seen market volatility grow to levels not seen since the COVID pandemic.

“Companies considering an IPO must now weigh the risks of listing in such turbulent conditions, alongside rising input costs.

“The ambiguity surrounding global trade policy is also likely to dampen investor appetite and could lead to delayed listings or reduced valuations in the year ahead.”

Pessimism about the outlook for flotations has been compounded by a steady trickle of companies cancelling their London listings or shifting them overseas.

The UK market’s biggest hope continues to be that Shein, the Chinese-founded online fashion retailer, will defy the impact of President Trump’s tariffs and list in London in the coming months.

A spokesman for Waves Audio declined to comment.

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves outlines red lines for US trade deal

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves outlines red lines for US trade deal

Britain will not lower its standards or water down regulation in exchange for a trade deal with the US, the chancellor has confirmed.

Rachel Reeves was speaking ahead of a pivotal meeting with her American counterpart in Washington DC.

In an interview with Sky News, Ms Reeves said she was “confident” that a deal would be reached but said she had red lines on food and car standards, adding that changes to online safety were “non-negotiable for the British government”.

The comments mark the firmest commitment to a slew of rules and regulations that have long been a gripe for the Americans.

Rachel Reeves
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Rachel Reeves spoke to Sky’s Gurpreet Narwan

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The US administration is pushing for the UK to relax rules on agricultural exports, including hormone-treated beef.

While Britain could lower tariffs on some agricultural products that meet regulations, ministers have been clear that it will not lower its standards.

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However, the government has been less firm with its stance on online safety.

A tech red line

The US tech industry has fiercely opposed Britain’s Online Safety Act, which was introduced in 2023 and requires tech companies to shield children from harmful content online.

In an earlier draft UK-US trade deal, the British government was considering a review of the bill in the hope of swerving US tariffs.

However, the chancellor suggested that this was no longer on the table.

“On food standards, we’ve always been really clear that we’re not going to be watering down standards in the UK and similarly, we’ve just passed the Online Safety Act and the safety, particularly of our children, is non-negotiable for the British government,” she said.

She added that Britain was “not going to water down areas of road safety”, a move that could pave the way for American SUVs that have been engineered to protect passengers but not pedestrians.

While non-tariff barriers will remain intact, it was reported on Tuesday night that the UK could lower its automotive tariff from 10% to 2.5%.

The calculations behind Reeves’s red lines


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Gurpreet Narwan

Business and economics correspondent

@gurpreetnarwan

What can Britain offer the Americans if it’s not prepared to lower its standards?

Donald Trump has previously described non-tariff barriers that block US exporters as “cheating”.

Britain does have some scope to bring down tariff rates – and Rachel Reeves suggested that this was her focus – but ours is already a highly open economy, we don’t have huge scope to cut tariff rates.

The real prize for the Americans is in the realm of these non-tariff barriers.

There has been much speculation about what the UK could offer up, but the chancellor on Wednesday gave a comprehensive commitment that she would not dilute standards.

There are many who will breathe a collective sigh of relief – from UK farmers to road safety campaigners and parents of young children.

While the government is sensitive to any potential public backlash, it also has another factor to think about.

When Ms Reeves arrives back home, she will begin preparations for a UK-EU summit in London next month.

The UK’s food and road safety standards are, in many areas, in sync with Europe, and Britain is seeking even deeper integration.

Lowering standards for the Americans would make that deeper alignment with the Europeans impossible.

The chancellor has to decide which market is more valuable to Britain.

The answer is Europe.

Back at home, the chancellor suggested that she was still open to relaxing rules on the City of London, even though global financial markets have endured a period of turmoil, triggered by President Trump’s trade war.

Reforms at home?

In her Mansion House speech last November, the chancellor said post-2008 reforms had “gone too far” and set the course for deregulating the City.

Asked if that was a wise move in light of the recent sharp swings in the financial markets, Ms Reeves said: “I want regulators to regulate not just for risk but also for growth.

“We are making reforms and we have set out new remit letters to our financial services regulators.”

Britain’s borrowing costs hit their highest level in almost 30 years after Mr Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs announcements, a stark reminder that policy decisions in the US have the power to raise UK bond yields and in turn, affect the chancellor’s budget, dent her already small fiscal headroom and derail her plans for tax and spend.

However, the chancellor said she would not consider adapting her fiscal rules, which include a promise to cover day-to-day spending with tax receipts, even if it gives her more room to manoeuvre in the face of volatility.

“Fiscal rules are non-negotiable for a simple reason, that Britain must offer under this government fiscal and financial stability, which is so important in a world of global uncertainty,” she said.

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