Wes Streeting will announce plans to rip up planning laws and overturn Ed Miliband’s ban on new fossil fuel production in a bold speech to set out his agenda if he becomes prime minister.
Mr Streeting will make it clear that he will remove the ability of local communities to object to controversial energy and big tech projects and allow new drilling for oil and gas in the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields in the North Sea.
In a major speech on Tuesday, the former health secretary will take on both the green lobby and nimbyism in what will also be seen as a challenge to the plans Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham – his main rival – wants to push.
Mr Burnham wants to hand even more powers to regions and communities with a devolution agenda but Mr Streeting will make the case that for projects of national importance, central government needs to be the only decision maker.
Mr Streeting’s camp has already started to draft Bills aimed at fast-tracking infrastructure schemes, a step he will put at the centre of his economic offering to oust Sir Keir.
Ahead of the speech, Mr Streeting said: “We used to be a country that could do great things. With the promise that the next generation can have it better than the last. We still can. And I want to give people reason to believe again.
“If parliament can act in days to save British Steel, it can act with urgency to save Britain’s future prosperity.
“Successive governments have been sleeping, while Britain’s crying out for action. I will pass emergency laws to build data centres, nuclear power generation, transport infrastructure connecting people with jobs, and more.
“We still can build the infrastructure to grow our economy, we have to, and – if I become prime minister – we will.”
The move would build on reforms which chancellor Rachel Reeves has attempted to introduce to speed up economic growth by making it easier to build infrastructure.
There has been growing frustration over the way projects like new nuclear power stations and HS2 have been tied up in red tape with local objections and environmental demands.
Under Mr Streeting’s plans, infrastructure projects would be given “decision in principle” consent through bills in Parliament, with ministers then settling environmental concerns and consultations after the fact.
This would bypass and replace the often lengthy planning processes which currently take place before builders can get spades in the ground on major projects.
Mr Streeting’s campaign pointed to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, approved by the government in 2016, which has still not yet been built out.
Entire categories of nationally significant projects – such as reservoirs, power plants, and transport schemes – could be exempted from individual planning applications under the proposals.
In the speech, Mr Streeting will also lay out plans to increase high-skilled immigration into the UK, with the aim of recruiting 20,000 scientists, engineers and AI experts from across the world.
Elsewhere, he will argue that two stalled North Sea drilling projects – Rosebank and Jackdaw – should go ahead, and that tax receipts from the oil and gas fields should be ploughed into funding cheaper energy measures such as heat pumps and insulation.
Mr Streeting’s speech comes two days ahead of the Makerfield by-election, in which Mr Burnham is vying to return to parliament.
