The UK’s planning rulebook should be torn up in favour of a market-based system, the boss of one of the country’s biggest listed companies has said, as he urged government ministers to take a “radical” approach to kickstarting economic growth.
Speaking at the Centre for Policy Studies conference in the heart of the City, Lord Simon Wolfson, chief executive of retail giant Next, told an audience of business chiefs that the country’s planning system was the “biggest drag on British prosperity”, adding that it was a “recipe for scarcity” by preventing the building of housing, roads, power stations and other infrastructure.
The FTSE 100 chief proposed abolishing the entire planning system and re-write rules that are based on “principles”, letting markets decide where building should take place.
The Next boss also said the government should apply the same set of values to energy restrictions and workers’ rights as he took aim at Labour’s policies on North Sea oil exploration and reforms introduced in the Employment Rights Act.
“I’m not claiming that people are perfect or that markets are infallible. Of course, they’re not and the rules really matter,” Wolfson said.
“But with the proper framework, a free people can achieve so much more than can be imagined by governments.”
UK economic growth downgrade
Wolfson’s speech backs a dramatic overhaul in the government’s approach to the economy amid growing pessimism over the country’s growth trajectory among the electorate as well as among Labour ranks and opposition groups.
Labour MPs from the centre-ground and soft-left have joined together to call for sweeping reforms of taxes including the stamp duty while opposition groups have riled against Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £60bn broad tax hikes on businesses and people’s income.
Two of the world’s foremost economic institutions, the International Monetary Fund and OECD, have given the government a damning verdict of its growth plans, suggesting that the UK would suffer more from the Iran war than any G7 country.
Reeves has staked her economic growth agenda on planning reforms, building closer trade ties with the EU and widespread AI adoption.
Wolfson said the government would “probably not” win the next election but urged opposition parties to draft legislation and build courage to implement reforms after any election.
“It is my contention that when we can shake off its economic lethargy and return to the prosperity that this country can deliver and deserves,” he said.
