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Rachel Reeves will call on skeptical Labor MPs on Monday to back her plans to boost Britain’s economy, including a highly contentious proposal to expand Heathrow Airport.
The chancellor has faced criticism from some in her own party for allegedly favoring business over consumers and backing a third runway at Britain’s busiest airport, amid fears it could hit the government’s environmental targets.
But Reeves he will seek to confront his critics when he meets the parliamentary Labor party on Monday, telling MPs that without growth he will not be able to fund the public service improvements they want.
Reeves, who met with investors at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, will also spend the next two days meeting with CEOs in an attempt to convince them she has a credible growth strategy.
Many business leaders fear that her policies have contributed to the stagnation of the economy.
On Sunday, Reeves effectively confirmed she would support building a third runway at Heathrow when she gives a “growth” speech on Wednesday, insisting the airline industry is becoming greener.
Asked about London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan’s claims that the policy would hit clean air and zero targets, Reeves said: “A lot has changed in terms of aviation.”
She told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that more sustainable jet fuels were becoming available and that “a third runway will mean that instead of circling London, flights can land at Heathrow”.
Reeves said she had already agreed the expansion of London City and Stansted airports and was also expected to approve the expansion of Gatwick and Luton airports on Wednesday, marking a major expansion of London airport capacity.
A third runway was first proposed by the last Labor government in 2003 for economic reasons, but subsequent Conservative administrations have tried and failed to advance the plan.
Khan and environmental groups have long opposed it, citing the UK’s legally binding goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions. But this week Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who threatened to resign over the issue during Gordon Brown’s government, said he would not give up his role if a third runway is approved.
Paul McGuinness, chairman of the No Third Runway coalition, said: “Expansion at other London airports undermines the case for Heathrow’s uniquely complicated and expensive third runway, making it an even riskier, if not non-investment proposition.”
Left-wing Labor MPs are also concerned that Reeves is tilting the regulatory landscape in favor of big business and away from consumers, with one saying: “She is going after big corporations.”
But the chancellor insisted on Sunday that without some radical changes, Britain would have inadequate growth and that the government would fail to meet its target of 1.5 million new homes in this parliament.
“Too often the answer to new development was ‘no’. But it is an attitude that has stalled economic growth and left workers in a worse position,” she said. “I don’t believe low growth is our destiny.”
Reeves has announced new plans to speed up the construction of new homes near train stations, as part of reforms under the new Planning and Infrastructure Act.
The Treasury said the new rules would ensure that when developers apply for eligible types of schemes in key areas – such as near commuter hubs – the default answer is “yes”.
Reeves also supported the regeneration project around Manchester’s Old Trafford, championed by Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
The Ministry of Finance said it would “see the new residential, commercial and public spaces as a shining example of a bold pro-development model that will drive growth across the region”.
Manchester United have plans to rebuild or redevelop Old Trafford, which city leaders claim could launch one of the UK’s “biggest ever urban regeneration projects”.
The Premier League club will decide by the end of this season whether to build a new stadium with a capacity of 100,000, creating the largest stadium in the country, or to upgrade and expand the existing one.
Burnham called the proposal “the biggest opportunity for urban regeneration” since the 2012 London Olympics.
