‘Labour Growth Group’ MPs Fail to Challenge Government Over Major Planning Climbdown – Guido Fawkes

‘Labour Growth Group’ MPs Fail to Challenge Government Over Major Planning Climbdown

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Labour’s primary pro-growth campaign group has been strangely quiet on a major climbdown on planning reform. When the whip cracks…

Last week the government gave in to a backbench rebellion led by now-suspended backbench MP Chris Hinchcliff on its Planning and Infrastructure Bill to insert more nature-related blocks on building. The bill as now amended means developments will have to provide a strict timeline on when nature-protecting measures – like Hinkley Point’s ‘fish disco‘ – will be brought in. There will also be cases where measures in now-beefed up Environmental Delivery Plans may have to start before developments themselves. This will all bog down new construction…

The ‘Labour Growth Group usually pressures the government strongly on planning restrictions. Not this time – it has stayed curiously silent on the blocker climbdown…

The group’s chairmen have all written in the New Statesman this morning congratulating themselves for a year in action: “In just twelve months, the Labour Growth Group has evolved from a name on a letter into a determined force of reformers in Parliament, united by the urgency of the moment and a clarity about the hard choices required.” Not determined enough to actually challenge the government though…