Wes Streeting promises emergency laws to speed up major projects if he becomes PM

Wes Streeting promises emergency laws to speed up major projects if he becomes PM In a speech setting out his economic blueprint for Britain, the ex-Health Secretary will say legislation will give government new powers to help build transport links, data centres and nuclear power Wes Streeting has vowed to introduce emergency laws to speed up the building of critical national infrastructure projects if he becomes Prime Minister. In a major speech on Tuesday, the ex-Health Secretary and possible Labour leadership challenger will set out plans for legislation to give the government new powers to help build transport links, data centres and nuclear power. His team said it would allow Parliament to give approval to categories of projects - avoiding individual ones being held up by sluggish processes. It is hoped the move would help 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. Ahead of his address - setting out his economic blueprint for Britain - 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 senior Labour figure resigned from the Cabinet last month after the party’s local elections drubbing and called on Mr Starmer to resign from No10. He has insisted he will throw his hat into the ring if any contest is triggered against the PM. But his speech comes less than 24 hours after Mr Starmer, who face a make-or-break week, warned a leadership battle would plunge the country into chaos. The Prime Minister’s team is braced for a challenge if the Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, wins the crucial Makerfield by-election against Nigel Farage's Reform on Thursday. Speaking to ITV ’s This Morning on Monday, Mr Starmer said: “I don’t think we should have a challenge, because I think it’ll throw the country into chaos. If there is a challenge, I will fight. I’m not going to walk away from this. We won a landslide victory just two years ago with a clear mandate to change the country, that’s a five-year mandate.” The Prime Minister also said he wanted to deliver the change that people voted for in the 2024 Labour landslide. “What we did was offer change. I always said that would take time. Do I understand that people are frustrated and say ‘I haven’t seen enough change yet?’ Yes, of course I do," he said. “We need to complete on the work that we are doing, but… if you’ve waited best part of 20 years for your living standards to improve, you want that to happen more quickly. I completely understand that.”