Politics latest: Chancellor to unveil Labour’s plans to grow the economy in major speech

Today’s news

Chancellor to warn growth won’t come ‘without a fight’Ed Conway: Big economy speech will take no immediate pressure off ReevesListen: Is Rachel Reeves ignoring the north?Starmer to face off with Badenoch in PMQs at noonWhat is the assisted dying bill – and what could it mean?Reporting by Faith Ridler

08:19:44 Ministers ‘not interested’ in ‘sporting side’ of Old Trafford redevelopment

Next, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is asked how much public money will go into the redevelopment of the Old Trafford site in Greater Manchester.

The minister says the government is “not interested” in the “sporting side” of the project, but the “housing, the infrastructure, the things that will enable that”.

He adds: “It will contribute to our housing targets in particular.”

Kay presses again on how much public money will be spent.

Mr Reynolds says: “We stand ready as a government with the financial tools available to partner with the private sector to deliver the kind of regeneration opportunities that we’re looking to deliver upon in every part of the UK.”

So will there be public money spent on the redevelopment?

“We are willing to partner with the private sector with them. There to deliver the kind of changes,” Mr Reynolds says.

“That’s not to, as I say, any kind of sporting element to it, but often it’s about infrastructure. 

“It’s about transport infrastructure that enables that private money to come in and do the kind of things that we want to see, to deliver upon our housing targets.”

08:12:29 Growth and net zero go ‘hand in hand’, says Reynolds

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is now joining Kay Burley on Sky News Breakfast.

Speaking ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s speech on growth this morning, Mr Reynolds insists that this drive for growth can be delivered alongside net zero.

He says: “The big growth opportunity around the world is in climate.

“The fact that we’ve had as a country, I think three times the level of inward investment into renewable energy than any comparable European nation. 

“So the two things go hand in hand. If we weren’t ambitious on climate, we’d be missing out on growth. 

“And equally, if we haven’t got a strong economy, it becomes harder to tackle those things.”

Mr Reynokds adds that the UK has “offshore energy potential” that other countries do not.

“If I was not ambitious on climate, I wouldn’t be ambitious as a business secretary for the economy, for trade, for growth in every part of the UK.”

08:00:56 Politics at Jack and Sam’s: Is Rachel Reeves ignoring the north?

👉Listen to Politics At Jack And Sam’s on your podcast app👈

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy look at the day ahead in British politics.    

Today’s the day for Rachel Reeves, as she aims to get the economy growing with a big speech this morning. There’s the heavily trailed backing of a third runway at Heathrow, as well as the news this morning the government is breathing fresh life into another big project in the South of England: the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor. How will it go down with her party around the country? 

And while the chancellor aims to put the boosters under the economy, the government is reeling from a damaging defeat to their own rocket man. 

Overnight, peers voted in favour of giving the creative industries greater protection from AI firms using their work to train models without pay. 

Labour’s election mega supporter Elton John was one of many stars to back the amendments to the government’s bill. Are the government alright for fighting on this? 

You can send us a WhatsApp on 07511 867 633 or email us: jackandsam@sky.uk 

07:49:32 What is the assisted dying bill – and what could it mean?

At the end of last year, MPs voted in in favour of changing the law to back assisted dying after a lengthy and impassioned debate.

The proposed law would make it legal for over-18s who are terminally ill to be given medical assistance to end their own life in England and Wales.

The bill – called the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – sets out detailed requirements to be eligible.

The Labour MP proposing it, Kim Leadbeater, said the safeguards are the “most robust” in the world, but others argued it is a “slippery slope towards death on demand”.

What is in the bill?

The purpose of the bill is to allow adults aged 18 and over, who have mental capacity, are terminally ill and are in the final six months of their life, to request assistance from a doctor to die.

This is subject to “safeguards and protections” which include:

They must have a “clear, settled and informed wish to end their own life” and have reached this decision voluntarily, without coercion or pressure;They must have lived in England or Wales for 12 months and be registered with a GP;Two independent doctors must be satisfied the person meets the criteria and there must be at least seven days between the doctors making the assessments;If both doctors state the person is eligible, then they must apply to the High Court for approval of their request;If the High Court decides that the applicant meets the bill’s requirements, then there is a 14-day reflection period (or 48 hours if death is imminent);After this, the person must make a second declaration, which would have to be signed and witnessed by one doctor and another person.

What happens if the eligibility criteria is met?

If a person meets all this eligibility criteria, a life-ending “approved substance” would be prescribed.

This would be self-administered, so the individual wishing to die must take it themselves.

This is sometimes called physician-assisted dying and is different from voluntary euthanasia, when a health professional would administer the drugs.

As well as all the conditions set out above, the bill would make it illegal to pressure or coerce someone to make a declaration that they wish to end their life, or take the medicine.

These offences will be punishable by a maximum 14-year prison sentence.

07:30:48 ‘Things are going from bad to worse’ in care sector, says Davey

Joining Kay Burley on Sky News Breakfast this morning is Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey.

He begins by discussing news that the Scottish government is scrapping its plans to create a National Care Service.

It is an embarrassing but perhaps predictable end to years of ambitious talk about finally coming up with a solution to the social care crisis, our people and politics correspondent Nick Martin writes.

Sir Ed explains: “I’m really worried about this latest news.

“It looks like the SNP government are failing tens of thousands of people across Scotland, and I’m afraid across the whole United Kingdom with Labour’s refusal to act quickly on social care, and actually making it worse with the rising national insurance.

“I think things are going from bad to worse.

“I didn’t think that would happen, the Conservatives left the health service in a disastrous state, Labour’s failure to act is making it worse.

“Councils and billions of people are really struggling.”

07:00:01 Starmer vows to clear ‘regulatory weeds’ ahead of Reeves growth speech

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “clear out the regulatory weeds” to encourage growth ahead of the chancellor’s major economic speech today.

The prime minister invoked his New Labour predecessors and Margaret Thatcher, and said that for “too long regulation has stopped Britain building its future”.

It comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to set out policies this morning to encourage economic growth, and hail the region around Oxford and Cambridge as having “the potential to be Europe’s Silicon Valley”.

Writing in The Times, Sir Keir criticised the “morass of regulation that effectively bans billions of pounds” of investment, describing “thickets of red tape” that have “spread through the British economy like Japanese knotweed”.

He said ministers will “kick down the barriers to building, clear out the regulatory weeds and allow a new era of British growth to bloom”.

The prime minister added: “A change in the economic weather can only ever come from a supply-side expansion of the nation’s productive power.

“In the 1980s, the Thatcher government deregulated finance capital. In the New Labour era, globalisation increased the opportunities for trade. This is our equivalent.”

06:45:01 Big economy speech will take no immediate pressure off Reeves

Don’t, whatever you do, call it a “relaunch”.

When the chancellor stands up and delivers her much-anticipated speech today  – 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.

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.

06:35:20 Chancellor to warn growth won’t come ‘without a fight’ in major economy speech

By Tim Baker, political reporter

Rachel Reeves will unveil Labour’s plans to grow the UK economy this morning, warning it “will not come without a fight”.

The chancellor is expected to announce a raft of measures including developing Oxford and Cambridge, 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.

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.

Ms Reeves will use these plans as demonstrations of the government’s commitment to “growth”.

06:34:54

Good morning!

Welcome back to the Politics Hub on Wednesday, 29 January.

There’s a busy day ahead in Westminster, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves due to deliver a major speech on growth this morning.

The chancellor will unveil Labour’s plans to grow the UK economy, warning it “will not come without a fight”.  There are rumours this could include support for the proposed expansion of Heathrow airport. 

We’ll have updates throughout her speech – stay tuned.

Also today, Sir Keir Starmer will face off with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch in Prime Minister’s Questions.

Elsewhere, the King and Queen will today host a reception for the 2024-intake of MPs and new members of the House of Lords.

And legislative scrutiny of the assisted dying bill will continue on Wednesday, the second of two days of evidence the committee is due to hear. 

Witnesses today include sociologist and bioethicist Professor Tom Shakespeare, former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption and Equality and Human Rights Commission chief executive John Kirkpatrick.

Joining us this morning will be:

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey at 7.15am;

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds at 7.30am;

Shadow Treasury minister Gareth Davies at 8.15am.

Follow along for the very latest political news.

23:00:01 That’s all for tonight

Thank you for joining us for live coverage of today’s events in Westminster.

Join us again from 6am tomorrow for the very latest – including live coverage of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s major speech unveiling Labour’s plans to grow the economy (scroll down for more details).

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