Closing post
Time to wrap up…
Rachel Reeves has announced that the Treasury will draw up proposals to hand England’s mayors a share of national tax revenues as part of a radical plan to rebalance the economy.
The chancellor promised “a genuine break with the past” that would shift spending power away from Westminster, as she promised to create investment-led growth, across the UK.
Reeves was delivering the Mais lecture – the second time she has given the high-profile annual address at Bayes Business School in London.
It is no coincidence that the UK is “the most politically centralised of advanced democracies, and one of the most geographically unequal”, Reeves said.
Treasury officials will bring forward a plan at the autumn budget to allow regional leaders to receive a share of national taxes, starting with income tax, she added.
Reeves also announced new city investment funds worth £2.3bn for England’s regional “metro” mayors to spend on long-term investment projects, adding that they would be able to retain future business rates revenue.
More here:
Reeves plans to give England’s regional leaders a share of national tax revenues
During a wide-ranging speech, the chancellor also argued that innovation and AI, closer ties with Europe, and regional growth provided the biggest opportunities for growth in the UK.
Reeeves announced the creation of an AI Economic Institute to help identify opportunities, saying the government wanted the British people to benefit from them.
And on closer alignment with Europe, she explained:
Let me say this directly to our friends and allies in Europe. This government believes a deeper relationship is in the interest of the whole of Europe.
She also cited research that Brexit could have knocked up to 8% off UK GDP, saying it had caused damage.
The chancellor also agreed that the student loan system was broken, but argued she couldn’t fix it yet and that it was right to prioritise child poverty, the NHS and defence.
Goodnight. GW
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