It’s Now of never for Rachel

As the UK’s first female Chancellor of the Exchequer, **Rachel Reeves must pursue a multi-faceted strategy to promote sustainable, inclusive growth**, addressing structural weaknesses in the UK economy. Key priorities should include:

### 1. **Accelerate Investment & Boost Productivity**
– **Unlock Private Capital:** Reform pension funds and insurance regulations to channel £s of institutional investment into UK infrastructure, green tech, and startups.
– **National Wealth Fund:** Deploy Labour’s £7.3bn fund to co-invest with private firms in ports, gigafactories, and clean energy.
– **Planning Revolution:** Fast-track approvals for labs, factories, and green energy projects to end growth bottlenecks.
– **R&D Focus:** Increase public R&D spending and expand R&D tax credits for key sectors (AI, life sciences, renewables).

### 2. **Upgrade Foundational Systems**
– **Energy Transition:** Accelerate grid upgrades and renewable deployment (onshore wind, solar, nuclear) to cut business energy costs and create jobs.
– **Transport & Digital:** Target infrastructure gaps (e.g., Northern rail, 5G rollout) to improve regional connectivity and business efficiency.

### 3. **Expand Workforce Participation & Skills**
– **Skills Revolution:** Expand apprenticeships, align Further Education with industry needs (esp. in green tech, construction, digital), and reform the Apprenticeship Levy.
– **Labour Market Activation:** Improve childcare access to enable more parents (especially women) to work, and reform disability benefits to support re-entry into employment.
– **Health & Workforce:** Reduce NHS waiting lists to return people to work faster.

### 4. **Fiscal Stability & Pro-Growth Tax Reform**
– **Credible Fiscal Rules:** Maintain strict debt/GDP targets to reassure markets, enabling lower borrowing costs.
– **Smart Tax Tweaks:** Close non-dom and carried interest loopholes; avoid broad tax hikes on workers or businesses. Consider targeted business rate reform.
– **Local Power:** Devolve fiscal powers (e.g., retention of business rates) to mayors to drive place-based growth.

### 5. **Industrial Strategy & Trade**
– **Active Industrial Policy:** Partner with business in strategic sectors (automotive, renewables, AI) via sector councils and R&D support.
– **Post-Brexit Trade:** Improve EU relations to reduce trade frictions, while pursuing new deals in high-growth markets (e.g., India, CPTPP).

### 6. **Cross-Cutting Priorities**
– **”Securonomics”:** Build resilient supply chains (semiconductors, critical minerals) and energy security.
– **Inclusive Growth:** Target regional inequality via “Take Back Control Act” devolution and targeted investment in left-behind areas.
– **Green Growth:** Position UK as a clean energy leader, leveraging low-carbon industries for export advantage.

### Key Challenges to Overcome:
– **Avoiding Short-Termism:** Resist populist spending/tax cuts; stay focused on long-term capital investment.
– **Balancing Regulation:** Ensure pro-growth planning reforms don’t sacrifice environmental/social standards.
– **Global Headwinds:** Navigate geopolitical risks (e.g., trade tensions, inflation shocks) with agile policy.

Reeves’ success hinges on **coordinated action across government**, combining fiscal discipline with strategic state intervention. As she stated: *”There is no substitute for the hard yards of increasing investment, reforming planning, and raising productivity.”* Her “national missions” approach must translate into tangible business confidence and sustained GDP per capita growth.