UK’s new govt puts economic growth at heart of its agenda
LONDON: Britain’s new government is preparing over 35 bills for the formal start of the parliamentary year on Wednesday and has put economic growth at the heart of its agenda, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said.
LONDON: Pedestrians walk in the winter sunshine down Oxford Street in central London in this Feb16, 2024 file photo. – AFP.
Starmer, who ended 14 years of Conservative rule earlier this month with a sweeping election win for his Labour Party, said his government aimed to deliver stability, boost growth and create wealth across the country. Legislation will include a bill to enforce tough new spending rules and strengthen the role of the independent Office of Budget Responsibility, meaning significant fiscal announcements will be properly scrutinized, the statement from his office said.
“Our work is urgent. There is no time to waste,” said Starmer, who has returned to Britain after attending the NATO summit last week in his first major international meeting as the country’s leader. “We are hitting the ground running by bringing forward the laws we will need to rebuild our country for the long-term - and our ambitious, fully costed agenda is the downpayment on that change.”
Within days of taking office as the country’s first female finance minister after the election, Rachel Reeves set out plans to increase house building, unblock infrastructure projects and attract private investment. Through a new National Wealth Fund, the government hopes to attract private capital into nascent and growing industries to support growth and meet net zero commitments.
The State Opening of Parliament is the only regular occasion when the three constituent parts of parliament - the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons - meet. The pomp and ceremony tends to attract large crowds and a significant TV audience.
Britain’s economic output grew better-than-expected in May, official data showed Thursday. Gross domestic product growth came in at 0.4 percent in May, which compared with flat GDP in April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement. Analysts’ consensus had been for economic expansion of 0.2 percent in May.
“Delivering economic growth is our national mission, and we don’t have a minute to waste,” Britain’s new finance minister Rachel Reeves has said in response to the data on Thursday. Reeves on Monday also vowed to immediately “fix the foundations” of Britain’s economy, fuelled by onshore wind power and house building. ONS director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown, said the UK economy grew across all the main sectors in May.
“Many retailers and wholesalers had a good month, with both bouncing back from a weak April” when rainy weather kept shoppers away from physical stores, noted McKeown.
She added that “construction grew at its fastest rate in almost a year after recent weakness, with housebuilding and infrastructure projects boosting the industry”. The services sector meanwhile remained a key driver of growth after Britain exited a short-lived recession earlier this year. — Agencies.
