Starmer pledges a bonfire of red tape to get UK building

PM to say he will get rid of? bureaucracy preventing new homes, roads and train lines, ahead of investment summit

- ARCHIE MITCHELL

Sir Keir Starmer will promise a bonfire of red tape to get Britain building as he gathers global chief executives at an investment summit in the City of London today.

The prime minister is pledging to “rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment” and ensure regulators prioritise economic growth in their decision-making. And laying the groundwork for a wave of deregulation, Sir Keir will say: “We’ve got to look at regulation where it is needlessly holding back the investment, to take our country forward.

“Where it is stopping us building the homes, the data centres, warehouses, grid connectors, roads, train lines, you name it, then mark my words – we will get rid of it.”

After a chaotic first 100 days in government, Sir Keir will pitch to business leaders attending the gathering that Labour’s historic election win has given the government a “golden opportunity ... to end chop and change, policy churn and sticking plasters that make it so hard for investors to assess the value of any proposition”.

He will tout the value of a steady, stable government, saying: “We have the determination, the focus on clear, long-term ends, a mission-led mindset that thinks in years, not the days or hours of the news grid, needed to unlock that potential. Do not doubt that.”