Sir Keir Starmer has ordered Britain’s top watchdogs to remove barriers to growth in a bid to revive Britain’s flagging economy.
Sky News has learned that the Prime Minister wrote to more than ten regulators – including Ofgem, Ofwat, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority – on Christmas Eve demanding they submit a series of pro-market initiatives. growth in Downing Street by mid-January.
One of the recipients of the letter, which was also signed by Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, and Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, said it unambiguously urged regulators to prioritize growth and ‘investment.
The Financial Reporting Council, Ofcom, the Environment Agency and healthcare regulators are also believed to have all received it.
It comes after a torrid first few months in office for the prime minister, who has been forced to take a step back by a series of sordid rows and turbulent politics.
October’s budget, which involved promises of tens of billions of pounds of tax rises, sparked a backlash from the private sector, with bosses across a range of sectors warning it would fuel inflation and would lead to job losses and business closures.
A regulatory source said this weekend that the letter to watchdogs and a wider push for regulatory reform coming from Downing Street was the brainchild of Varun Chandra, the Prime Minister’s special adviser. Minister for Business and Investment.
Sir Keir’s letter reportedly referred to the need for every government department and regulator to support growth, and called on each recipient to submit five ideas to fulfill this mandate by January 16.
The letter also urges regulators to identify how the government could remove barriers to economic growth and identify conflicting or confusing regulatory objectives.
Government insiders say Mr Chandra has been ruffling feathers in Whitehall since his appointment shortly after Labour’s massive victory in July’s general election.
A former managing partner of Hakluyt, the strategic consultancy, Mr Chandra has “relentlessly” stressed the urgency of transforming the business climate to drive growth, according to a Whitehall source.
The source added that the letter to watchdogs is expected to be the first step in a wider program of supply-side reforms that will be overseen by Downing Street over the coming months.
Most of Britain’s economic regulators already have a growth obligation in their statutes, which came into force in March 2017 under the Deregulation Act two years earlier.
Efforts by watchdogs to pay greater attention to economic competitiveness have already sparked a series of flashpoints, including in the financial services sector, where ministers have clashed with FCA officials on a number of policy areas.
Sir Keir has already signaled his intention to cut red tape, telling the government’s flagship international investment summit in the autumn: “The key test for me on regulation is of course growth.
“We need to look at regulations as a whole, and determine how they are unnecessarily holding back the investments we need to move our country forward.
“Where it stops us from building homes, data centers, warehouses, network connectors, roads, train lines, then mark my words: we will get rid of it. »
On Saturday, a government spokesperson declined to comment on the contents of the letter to regulators, but said: “Our plan for change will boost economic growth across the country, putting more money in people’s pockets.”
“Regulating for growth rather than just risk is essential to this mission, ensuring that regulation does not unnecessarily dampen investment and good jobs in the UK. »