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.

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

Ed Conway

Economics and data editor

@EdConwaySky

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.

Read the analysis in full here

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.

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.

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.

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.

Having begun the job of repairing the public finances in last October’s budget, this is, Rachel Reeves will say, simply the next step.

Money latest: Much-loved chocolate bar makes return to shelves

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 her enthusiasm for business-friendly reforms. And most would agree that making it easier to build infrastructure (which is a large part of her pitch) will help improve growth.

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.

None of that is especially growth-friendly.

The greatest challenge facing the chancellor, however, is the fact that very little of what she’s talking about in her speech is actually new. Most of these schemes, from the Oxford-Cambridge Arc (or whatever they’re calling it) to the multiple new runways planned around London, are very, very old. They’ve been blueprints for years if not decades. What’s been missing is the political will and determination to turn them into reality.

The new government may fare better at delivery. But it won’t be easy. And none of these projects will deliver growth immediately. Not until some time after the end of the parliament will they properly bear fruit.

The deaths of five people, including Leicester City’s owner, in a helicopter crash were accidental, an inquest jury has ruled.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, referred to in court as Khun Vichai, died in the crash along with two of his staff, Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer, and Mr Swaffer’s girlfriend Izabela Roza Lechowicz, a fellow pilot.

The jury delivered its verdict on Tuesday after being previously instructed to conclude that the crash was accidental.

Philip Shepherd KC, representing the relatives of Khun Vichai, said those who died were the “innocent victims of a tragic accident that never needed to happen”.

His son Khun Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, described his father as “one-of-a-kind, an investor in dreams” and said: “We miss him and feel his loss every day.”

“My father trusted in the design of this helicopter,” he said in a statement. It wasn’t safe. It was a death trap.”

As the helicopter was leaving the King Power Stadium in Leicester on 27 October 2018, a fault caused it to spin “rapidly” out of control before it crashed outside the stadium and burst into flames, the inquest heard.

Jon Rudkin, Leicester City’s director of football, who had known Mr Srivaddhanaprabha for eight years, described the moment the Leonardo AW169 helicopter started to “nosedive” after taking off at 8.37pm.

“It held its position as it sometimes did,” he said. “As it turned it continued to turn and then go into a spin.

“As soon as it went on that first full circle, I thought this was strange.

“It then started to nosedive away from the stadium still rotating in the air.”

Mr Rudkin told the inquest he saw the chairman wave and give him a thumbs up before the helicopter took off.

The inquest was shown an animation of the helicopter’s mechanical failure and told a duplex bearing on the tail rotor became “seized and locked”, which caused the actuator control shaft to spin “very fast”.

Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) principal inspector Mark Jarvis said the pilot had done everything he could to try to avoid the crash.

The inquest also heard how police officers tried to smash the aircraft’s windscreen after it crashed, but would never have been able to break the “very strong structure” designed to withstand a bird strike at a speed of 180mph (290kph).

Sergeant Michael Hooper said he could hear the helicopter’s trapped pilot, Mr Swaffer, shouting: “Get me out of here, help me.”

The crashed helicopter was resting on its left-hand side, meaning neither side door could be opened. A fuel leak then caused the aircraft to catch fire.

PC Stephen Quartermain became emotional as he remembered realising “the people were going to die”.

Ms Lechowicz died from injuries sustained when the helicopter hit the ground – but the other four victims initially survived the crash, and were killed by smoke inhalation from the fire, a pathologist told the inquest.

‘Caring and devoted’

As the inquest opened at Leicester City Hall, the jury heard pen portraits of the victims, with Mr Srivaddhanaprabha described as a “caring and devoted husband, father, uncle and grandfather”.

In a tribute read by family barrister Philip Shepherd KC, relatives called him “a great inspiration to us all” and said: “We all loved him very much.”

They added: “He was adored by everyone for his kind spirit, generosity, charm, sense of humour and intellect.”

Kate Lechowicz, Ms Lechowicz’s sister, described her in a statement as an “extraordinary individual” who “exuded a passion for life” and who “accomplished her task with grace and efficiency”.

Kate Lechowicz also read a tribute to the helicopter’s pilot, Mr Swaffer, and said: “He was great company. He had profound love for aviation, technology, travel, his motorbike and life in general.”

Tributes were also paid to passenger Kaveporn Punpare, who had a young daughter and was one of several butlers employed by the late Leicester City chairman.

A statement prepared for the inquest by his wife said he had initially worked for Mr Srivaddhanaprabha as an assistant butler who accompanied family members on trips.

Meanwhile, Nusara Suknamai, an employee of Khun Vichai’s, was described as a “pillar” of her family.

Speaking to Sky News, her father, Viroj Suknamai, said: “She was a lively person, she was the breadwinner of the family.

“She was the one who looked after the family and after she passed away we have had difficulties financially.”

Ms Suknamai was a former Miss Thailand contestant.

Her father said: “I remember all the good memories that we had together, I remember when she was in the beauty pageants, I was the one who would drive her there.

“If she was still here today she would’ve had a very bright future ahead of her, she could have done many more things in her life.”

Before the start of the inquest, Mr Srivaddhanaprabha’s family launched a £2.15bn lawsuit against the helicopter’s manufacturer, Italian company Leonardo SpA.

It is the largest fatal accident claim in English history, according to the family’s lawyers. The sum is for loss of earnings and other damages as a result of the billionaire’s death.