UKREiiF | ‘We are only just getting started’, says Reeves
Against a tumultuous political backdrop, the chancellor was in buoyant mood at UKREiiF as she announced hundreds of millions of pounds of investment across the North and the scrapping of judicial reviews that slow down large infrastructure projects, while also defending the government’s first two years in office.
Like fellow ministers Matthew Pennycook and Steve Reed before her, Rachel Reeves used her platform in Leeds to shine a light on the work the government has done to unlock development across the last two years and defend the interventions it has made.
“Some people believe very passionately that the best thing that government can do is to get out of the way, and I respect that,” she said.
“I think the government has got out of the way too often, and as a result, things don’t happen. I believe very passionately in an active and strategic state.”
One such intervention is the creation of city investment funds, announced in March, that will support the priorities of regional mayors.
As part of that initiative, Reeves this week confirmed funding to unlock long-stalled office schemes in Liverpool, more than 3,500 homes in Leeds, and the expansion of the Royal Armouries, where UKREiiF is held.
“The reason we’ve chosen these projects is not because we’ve made an assessment in Westminster as the Labour government that these are the best projects. It is because that’s what Steve Rotheram wants for Liverpool and it’s what Tracy [Brabin] wants for West Yorkshire, and we’re working together to deliver on the priorities of the local area.”
She said these investments would “crowd in” capital from the private sector.
Another intervention unveiled by Reeves this week was around infrastructure. The chancellor said she would seek to pass legislation that would reduce judicial reviews that delay large schemes and force costs up.
“That takes years off projects, limiting the number of times and the number of spurious reasons that things can be taken to court,” she said.
While Labour is languishing in the polls and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s premiership is under threat, Reeves said she is “really proud” of the government’s first two years in office, pointing to recent data as evidence its growth strategy is starting to pay off.
Reeves believes a corner may have been turned after recording 0.6% growth in the first quarter of the year, a figure that exceeded forecasts.
The government came to power in 2024 promising to boost a stagnant economy but has faced criticism on its record in this space over the last two years.
“We are only just getting started. You can’t turn everything around overnight,” she said.
“I am determined to ensure that in my time as chancellor, the opportunities for people, wherever they live in the UK, are greater than they were when I came into office, and I think that we are on that journey, we are starting to turn things around.”
