‘Europe’s Silicon Valley’ at heart of government’s growth plans, Rachel Reeves to announce
Rachel Reeves will unveil Labour’s plans to grow the UK economy on Wednesday, warning it “will not come without a fight”.
The chancellor is expected to announce a raft of measures including developing Oxford and Cambridge – which she says has the “potential to be Europe’s Silicon Valley” – building nine new reservoirs and the redevelopment of Old Trafford.
The speech is considered a key moment for a chancellor who has struggled with sluggish economic headwinds since her first budget last autumn.
Politics latest: Follow the chancellor’s speech on Wednesday morning
Despite intense speculation, the government has not yet announced whether they will back a third runway at Heathrow, or further developments at other airports.
The chancellor has struggled with sluggish economic headwinds since her first budget last autumn. Pic: PA
In a speech on Wednesday, Ms Reeves will confirm:
• Support for the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor – also known as the Oxbridge Arc – that was scrapped by the Conservatives in 2022. The government points to a report claiming the development, including transport, business growth, and housing, could add £78bn to the UK economy by 2035;
• An agreement that allows water companies to spend £7.9bn to build nine new reservoirs, with two planned for Somerset and then one each in Lincolnshire, Hampshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Kent and West Midlands. A new reservoir hasn’t been opened in the UK since 1992;
• The government will back the redevelopment of Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium and its surrounding area, alongside plans to change the way projects are appraised and evaluated, in order to “support decisions on public investment across the country, including outside London and the southeast”;
• Confirmation of a new approach to the National Wealth Fund and Office for Investment to get regional development happening faster.
Very little of this is new… or growth-friendly
Don’t, whatever you do, call it a “relaunch”.
When the chancellor stands up and delivers her much-anticipated speech on Wednesday – with all sorts of exciting schemes for new infrastructure and growth-friendly reforms – she will cast it as part of the new government’s long-standing economic strategy.
Regardless of whether you believe that this is all business-as-usual, it’s hard to escape the fact that the backdrop to the chancellor’s growth speech is, to say the least, challenging. The economy has flatlined at best (possibly even shrunk) since Labour took power. Business and consumer confidence have dipped. Not all of this is down to the miserable messaging emanating from Downing Street since July, but some of it is.
Still, whether or not this constitutes a change, most businesses would welcome the chancellor’s enthusiasm for business-friendly reforms.
But it’s not everything. What about the fact that the UK has the highest energy costs in the developed world? What about the fact that these costs are likely to be pushed higher by net zero policies (even if they eventually come down)? What about the fact that tax levels are about to hit the highest level in history, or that government debt levels are now rising even faster than previously expected.
A commitment to growth
Ms Reeves will use these plans as demonstrations of the government’s commitment to “growth”.
The chancellor is set to say in her speech: “Low growth is not our destiny. But growth will not come without a fight. Without a government that is on the side of working people. Willing to take the right decisions now to change our country’s course for the better.
“That’s what our Plan for Change is about. That is what drives me as chancellor. And it is what I’m determined to deliver.”
In its election campaign last year, Labour pledged to increase building in the UK – both housing and infrastructure.
These pledges are essential to the government’s plans to grow the economy, which has continued to struggle since Ms Reeves’ budget.
A key date for the chancellor is 26 March, when the Office for Budget Responsibility will provide its latest forecast, an indicator of whether they think the government’s plans will work.
A lack of growth could lead to Ms Reeves having to cut budgets further or raise taxes.
As part of the government’s plans to grow the economy and build, Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “take on” people who oppose building near where they live, who are known as Nimbys – which stands for Not In My Backyard.
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PM: ‘Growth number one priority’
The Oxbridge arc
The chancellor will also announce that the Environment Agency has dropped its opposition to 4,500 houses around Cambridge after working with the regulator and local authorities.
The prime minister was clear last week that he also wants to see fewer legal challenges to planning applications.
Other developments in that region that are getting government backing include more funding for East-West Rail, with new services between Oxford and Milton Keynes, and upgrades to the roads linking Milton Keynes and Cambridge.
Ms Reeves will also say a new East Coast Mainline Station at Tempsford – between Cambridge and Milton Keynes – will be supported.
Starmer and Reeves will ‘take on’ people who oppose building near where they live. Pic: AP
Read more on growth:
Reeves to seek billions from pension schemes
Analysis: Will chancellor’s plans finally boost growth?
Sir Patrick Vallance, a science minister who came to prominence during COVID as the government’s chief scientific adviser, will be made the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor champion.
Ms Reeves is set to say: “Just 66 miles apart, these cities are home to two of the best universities in the world, two of the most intensive innovation clusters in the world, and the area is a hub for globally renowned science and technology firms in life sciences, manufacturing, and AI.
“It has the potential to be Europe’s Silicon Valley. The home of British innovation.”
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She will point out there is no direct commuter link between the two sites and a lack of affordable housing in the area.
The chancellor will say the industrial strategy will look to “take advantage” of the area’s “unique strengths and potential”.
Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, claimed the “biggest barriers to growth” in the UK are Ms Reeves and Sir Keir, and their “job-destroying budget”.
He branded the ideas “hastily cobbled together”, saying they will not help businesses.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
“It has been a success.”
Just Stop Oil (JSO) insists it’s been “successful” – as its members ceremoniously hang up their orange high-vis vests during a march in central London.
Since the group formed three years ago, it’s drawn attention and criticism for its colourful, controversial protests, which ranged from disrupting sporting events to throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and climbing on gantries over the M25. It sprayed orange paint over Stonehenge, and cost police forces tens of millions of pounds.
Those days are now behind it; to the relief of many.
Read more
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As a few hundred activists marched through London on Saturday, blocking roads as they went; taxi drivers blared their horns and football fans shouted abuse from the pavement.
The PA News Agency filmed the moment a white minivan seemed to drive towards a group of protesters blocking the road.
Protesters shouted “I’m being pushed back!” to police, while the driver could be heard shouting “What about my right to get home?” to the officers gathered.
But JSO never set out to be popular. And it believes its tactics – though hated – have been successful; thanks to the new Labour government’s commitment to not issue new oil or gas exploration licences.
That’s why, it says, its ceasing direct action.
JSO hangs up its high-vis jackets in central London on Saturday
A washing line of high-vis jackets signifies JSO’s disbanding
“This moment marks the success of the JSO campaign – our demand was to end new oil and gas licences and that is now government policy.
“As a result of which four billion barrels of oil are being kept under the North Sea. The campaign has reached a natural end.”
Dr Oscar Berglund, senior lecturer in international public and social policy, disagrees that JSO is disappearing because it’s been “successful”.
He told Sky News policing strength and public perception might have more to do with it.
“They have very low levels of popularity. About 17% of the British population are kind of broadly supportive of what Just Stop Oil do. And that’s too low to recruit.
“It’s difficult to recruit members to something that is that unpopular, and then that a lot of people for good reason I think have kind of stopped believing in that kind of disruption as a means to achieve meaningful change.”
Group triggers specific new protest laws
One thing it did change is the law.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone tells us: “Obstruction of the highway, obstruction of rail networks for example, these are specific offences now.
“It’s given the police more tactics, more methods, more offences they can consider, even stopping and searching somebody who may have something to either lock themselves on or glue themselves to something.”
A JSO activist holds a picture of an imprisoned colleague
Emma Smart was held in prison for her activism with both Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil.
“The high-vis might be going away,” she tells me, “but we aren’t.”
“These people aren’t going anywhere, we are still committed, dedicated, terrified by the failings of this government and governments around the world.”
JSO activists throw orange paint at van Gogh’s sunflowers
Orange smoke set off by JSO protesters at Stonehenge
She hopes for a time of reflection before it returns in a new form but says the need for climate activism is stronger than ever.
She also believes that while most people dislike JSO tactics, it still raises awareness of the cause and might even push people to more moderate campaign groups.
Just Stop Oil came behind other, similarly controversial climate campaign groups like Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, and as it says goodbye, its disruptive methods have been seized upon by other organisations like the Pro-Palestinian Youth Justice.
The infamous Just Stop Oil orange vests might be going away, but the individual activists, their cause and campaign tactics feel here to stay.
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