Rachel Reeves is right to make reforming our sclerotic planning system the centrepiece of her economic strategy. But if she’s going to succeed she must consign the bat tunnels and fish discos that too often block development to the dustbin of history, says Sam Richards

In 2014 winter sports fans were getting ready for the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Let it Go from the Disney phenomenon Frozen was driving parents across the world crazy.

And everyone was doing the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money for ALS research.

That was also the last time, excluding the post-pandemic rebound, the British economy grew by more than 3 per cent.

Standing in Oxfordshire this morning Chancellor Rachel Reeves could only dream of growth hitting the heady-heights last achieved by her predecessor George Osborne.

Growth is flatlining, commentators talk of stagnation and stagflation – and global economic forecasts predict modest growth, averaging just 1.4 per cent for this year.

After days of speculation, she committed the government to a third runway at Heathrow in order to spur growth. Understandably this is getting a lot of attention, but her speech offered far more.

Reeves is........

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