In anticipation of the Labour Governments first King’s Speech tomorrow, the construction industry has been crystal clear on what it now needs from the Government in order to deliver sustainable and longterm growth.
The King’s Speech marks the State Opening of Parliament and will list the bills the Government hopes to pass in its first year in power. With Labour’s landslide victory and ongoing steadfast commitment to reforming the broken planning system, the industry has high expectations from this speech.
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said:
“In our ‘Supporting Construction to Power Growth’ manifesto, we outline the key gaps in policy thinking and recommend a strategic and deliverable reforms, that are deliverable in one parliamentary term and cover decarbonisation, housing and planning, procurement and payment, the environment, and skills and training. Labour are correct to target growth and a health construction industry can not only assist their ambitions but ensure they are sustained.”
See the full extent of the NFB’s recommendations here. It is unlikely we will see any bombshells from Labour’s plan; the announcements are expected to align closely with the ‘missions’ that have been reiterated throughout their election campaign and first 10 days or so in power, which had a heavy focus on growth, national renewal, and bold action. The NFB has long been calling for an uphaul of the planning system, and with Labour’s determination of being brave on planning reform, we may finally be getting a result.
Alongside expected plans to encourage house building, create Great British Energy,, grant new powers to authorities away from Westminster in the ‘Take Back Control’ bill, and create the National Wealth Fund for long term investment, Labour are setting an encouraging foundation for growth and some much-desired optimism for the construction industry.