Heathrow and housing: Griffith pledges ‘most ambitious deregulation project’ in generation

The Conservatives’ pick for chancellor has pledged to roll out the “most ambitious deregulation project in a generation” as he is set to say plans could cut £50,000 off the price of a new home. 

Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, will say on Monday say he will slash red tape for businesses across construction, supermarkets and nuclear energy if the Conservatives are voted in at the next election.

Griffith is set to tell party members that stripping back regulations would end delays in planning and “rejuvenate” the City of London as well as investment across the country. 

A list of policies announced on Monday include the abolition of the quangos Natural England and the Environment Agency, the replacement of various infrastructure project charges with a single levy, scrapping environmental standards on housebuilding, and the removal of the Extended Producer Responsibility – widely labelled a “packaging tax”. 

The reforms altogether would reduce the cost of living and the prices of homes. The £50,000 reduction figure is also enabled by a pledge to scrap stamp duty on primary residence, according to party analysis. 

The Bank of England previously suggested that the packaging tax added 0.5 percentage points to CPI inflation. 

In his speech, the shadow chancellor will also announce that the UK would leave the Aarhus Convention, an international treaty that grants the public rights to decisions that impact the environment, in order to advance the construction of nuclear energy plants and other critical infrastructure. 

Natural England and the Environment Agency would also be moved to a “streamlined regulatory landscape”, with powers to be passed to ministers in the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. 

Griffith’s Heathrow pledge

Griffith said the Tories were prepared to “tell the hard truths”. 

In a major announcement for the party, Griffith is also expected to say a Conservative government would do “whatever it takes” to get a third runway built at Heathrow Airport. 

Former London mayor Boris Johnson was a top opponent to the construction of the third runway. Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has also argued against its construction on environmental grounds while Prime Minister Andy Burnham refused to endorse the project that was heavily backed his predecessors in Downing Street.

A policy paper on the third runway is expected to be presented to parliament within months for MPs to vote on.

Sir James Cleverly, who wants to be the Tories’ pick for the next mayoral election in the capital, appeared to back the runway’s construction in a recent interview with City AM although he said local communities should reap the benefits of the project. 

Heathrow officials have pushed for the government to back the third runway as they have argued that an expansion of Europe’s second busiest airport was crucial to Britain’s trading relationship with different nations rather than just London’s business interests. 

In his speech, Griffith will say: “Countries on the rise have the best infrastructure and connectivity to the world but our national hub airport is being held back. The next Conservative government will do whatever it takes to end the delays and boost capacity by backing the third runway.”

Griffith will also say that a simplification of the tax code would be a central “objective” for every Treasury minister in the next Conservative government. 

His speech has been backed by other shadow cabinet ministers and industry bodies, including the Food and Drink Federation and British Glass. 

Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye also said he welcomed the “can do” atittude on the airport’s proposed expansion.