Local councils will have to adopt mandatory housing targets within months under planning reforms to be announced on Wednesday as part of Chancellor Keir Starmer’s first King’s Speech, which he said will focus on economic growth.
Starmer is due to introduce more than 35 bills on Wednesday – the first Labour chancellor in 15 years – and wants to make the economy a key focus in his first year in power.
Labour will introduce legislation on urban planning reform, devolution and public transport over the next 12 months, the Prime Minister will tell Parliament, but ministers have prioritised growth over all other political ambitions, with the government considering plans to lower the voting age, Penalise employers who don’t train or recruit British workers.
Speaking before his speech, Mr Starmer said: “It’s time to take the brakes off Britain. For too long, people have been held back, their path determined by where they come from, rather than by their talent and hard work.”
“I am determined to create wealth for people across the country. That is the only way our country can develop and my government is focused on supporting that aspiration.”
“Today’s new legislation will lay the foundation for the real change this country desperately needs, taking back control and enriching people’s lives while generating wealth for all communities and supporting their ambitions, hopes and dreams.”
Starmer is due to deliver his first King’s Speech on Wednesday, announcing a range of measures, mainly focused on the economy.
Central to this is Starmer’s change of plan. He vowed that his party would be “builders, not disruptors.”In its first week in power, Labor overturned the previous government’s effective ban on onshore wind farms in order to encourage the construction of clean energy plants.
The prime minister will on Wednesday announce the next stage of his party’s plans to liberalise the planning system, including legislation to re-impose housebuilding targets on local authorities. Under pressure from Conservative MPs last year, former housing secretary Michael Gove relaxed the targets, allowing councils to ignore them if they were deemed to harm the character of an area.
The government also wants local authorities to work together to identify local infrastructure needs and stop individual councils blocking plans.
Officials told the Guardian that consultations on new targets would begin within the next two weeks, with the aim of having new targets set by the autumn.
Housing and Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner will oversee the draft plan and a separate bill on devolution in England. Local authorities will be required to produce local housing plans as well as local growth plans detailing how they intend to support industry and the wider economy in their area.
Transport Secretary Louise Hague will lead legislation to nationalise railways and give greater public sector involvement in running local bus routes.
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Rail services will be nationalised when contracts with private sector managers expire, according to the Rail Bill. The bill would set up an independent body called British Rail to monitor passenger satisfaction with the new system and introduce changes such as automatic compensation across all lines.
The bus bill would give local leaders more power to start public bus services.
Not all of the bills in this legislative package are expected to be focused on the economy.
Mr Starmer is expected to publish bills to reform the House of Lords which could set the retirement age for MPs at 80. He will also revive plans by his predecessor Rishi Sunak to introduce a gradual smoking ban which was dropped in a flurry of last-minute legislation after the election result was announced.
Other long-standing Labour policies were also not adopted, including a promise to lower the voting age to 16.
Government officials said their commitment to the bill remains, but that legislation to boost economic growth will take priority this time. One source suggested the voting age change could wait until closer to the next election, sparking speculation the plan may never go ahead.
