Reliance on private sector investment could stifle Labour’s economic mission

Rachel Reeves is said to want the Office for Budget Responsibility to take more account of the long-term benefits of capital expenditure. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

For a chancellor targeting a decade in power, Rachel Reeves is in a hurry. After 14 years in the wilderness for Labour, and several centuries of Britain awaiting its first female chancellor, it’s not surprising she is keen to get on with the job.

So far, two ideas have predominated: blaming the Conservatives for the worst economic inheritance since the second world war, and laying the foundations for national renewal at breakneck speed.