Labour will reportedly utilise private finance to fund key national infrastructure schemes, if the party is elected into government.
Under leader Sir Keir Starmer, the party will set out a 10-year infrastructure strategy within the first year in power and is planning to boost private sector finance, the i paper reported.
It comes as Labour also pledged to reform the planning system and place it at the centre of economic policy, including net zero, with Starmer promising a “decade of national renewal”.
Nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs), such as major housing developments, power plants, railways, road networks and health centres, would come under the measures – and the party has already said it would build four new towns, comprising 1.5m homes.
Examples include the Hinkley Point C power station and the Thames Tideway Tunnel.
Delivering his first major speech of the election campaign on Monday, Starmer said he would deliver “economic stability”, calling it: “The very foundation of growth, with tough spending rules that mean we can keep inflation, taxes and mortgages low.”
He added: “I am fed up of listening to the Prime Minister tell you we have turned the corner.”
The i paper said Labour had consulted industry leaders since January in a bid to spark economic growth and inward investment from businesses affected by mounting red tape.
Shadow chief Treasury secretary Darren Jones has already announced plans to combine the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure and Projects Authority into one body.
While the party has also suggested its slate of metro mayors could take increased ownership of regional growth efforts, with the offer of a slate of new powers.
Fuller details of the policy platform may be set out in the party manifesto, expected to land in the coming weeks ahead of the July 4 general election.
Levelling up secretary Michael Gove previously wrote in the foreword to the government’s own plans to speed-up NSIPs that: “We must have a planning system fit to deliver it, while keeping communities and the environment at the heart of decision-making.”
