28th Jan 2025 09:03
(Alliance News) - Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have ordered Cabinet colleagues to ditch policies which could stand in the way of efforts to grow the economy.
The UK prime minister said the government's "growth mission" was now the driving force behind policy decisions.
He told business chiefs in the City of London that had been made clear to "each of our Cabinet colleagues".
The chancellor will deliver a major speech on Wednesday setting out plans for growth, expected to include support for expansion of Heathrow airport – an issue which Cabinet ministers including Energy Secretary Ed Miliband have opposed in the past.
Starmer told business leaders: "When you're answering the question, 'should we do X, or should we do Y', that is guided by the mission.
"Should we do X? If it's good for growth, good for wealth creation the answer is 'yes', if it's not then the answer is 'no'.
"It prioritises and gives a sense of direction to government."
He added he was "hard-wiring growth into all the decisions of the Cabinet".
"So what Rachel and I have done is to make it clear to each of our Cabinet colleagues that in each of their briefs, growth is the number one mission," he said.
Ministers will be expected to set out the growth credentials of new policies in order to get approval from their Cabinet colleagues, in a shake-up to the usual system to get "collective agreement" on substantive changes.
The prime minister has asked Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald to implement the changes.
The new rules mean that the economic impacts of proposals will be subjected to the same rigorous assessment that already applies to new public spending.
Speaking at the same meeting of business chiefs in London, the chancellor said her duty was to promote the UK as a destination for business investment.
In a sign of a change of rhetoric following months of highlighting the difficult legacy left by the Conservatives, Reeves said: "It's the role of government to shout about all the amazing things that we are doing as a country, all the huge opportunities that we have."
By David Hughes, PA Political Editor
Press Association: Finance
source: PA
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.