RACHEL REEVES: 'I have never accepted that decline is Britain's inevitable path'

One year on from the general election and this government’s task remains clear: to invest in Britain’s renewal so we can rebuild our country’s security, its health, and the economy.

We have already made great strides towards achieving this. We have delivered the biggest uplift in defence spending since the Cold War that will not only help towards keeping our country safe from new global threats but will protect and create tens of thousands of good jobs across our industrial heartlands.

The decisions we took at the Autumn Budget last year mean we can keep our commitment to putting the NHS back on its feet, with record investment that is going towards cutting hospital waiting lists.

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And we are investing in our country’s economic future, with more than £100billion of new capital investment in homes, transport, and energy.

I do not accept - and have never accepted - that decline is Britain’s inevitable path. Instead, this government is taking the right choices today to build a brighter and more secure future.

No project reflects this Government’s ambitions more than our commitment to Sizewell C. For years, politicians have talked about investing in cleaner, cheaper energy. We are getting on and delivering it.

At the spending review last month, I announced an initial multi-billion-pound investment to fund Sizewell C, so we can power the equivalent of around six million homes with clean, homegrown energy that we control.

Today, we have struck a deal with EDF, Centrica, La Caisse, and Amber Infrastructure. It is the biggest investment in clean and homegrown energy this century, and learning the lessons of the past, represents a saving of around 20% when compared with Hinkley Point C.

These deals mean construction can get underway, thousands of jobs will be created, and millions of people will benefit from cheaper, cleaner power, putting more money in their pockets each month.

But this deal is not just proof this Government is getting things done, it shows the huge confidence companies at home and overseas have in investing in Britain’s future.

Since the election, we have seen announcements of over £100billion of private sector investment. From Universal’s investment in a new theme park in Bedford to Oracle’s investment in cutting-edge cloud infrastructure here in the UK.

And the reforms I announced last week in the City to free financial services from red tape have been welcomed by HSBC, Royal London, the CBI and others as opening the door for future investment and making us even more competitive on the world stage.
We promised change at the election, and we are delivering that change.

We have put a stop to the dither and delay. We have ended the previous government’s commitment to decline, with a plan for national renewal - and we are just getting started.