The new finance chief of Britain reveals immediate growth plans and reinstates housing goals.

• On Friday, Britain appointed its first female chancellor of the exchequer, a former Bank of England economist named Rachel Reeves.
• Treasury officials will receive instructions from Reeves to evaluate the inherited spending from the previous Conservative administration, which she intends to present to Parliament before the summer recess.

The new finance chief of Britain announced a series of measures on Monday to boost the country's sluggish economic growth and tackle the national housing crisis.

"Rachel Reeves, the newly appointed Finance Minister, stated in her first major speech that the winner of the general election would inherit the worst set of circumstances since World War II. She added that what she had witnessed in the past 72 hours had only confirmed this. Reeves emphasized that nowhere is decisive reform needed more urgently than in the case of our planning system."

Reeves, a former Bank of England economist, was appointed as Britain's first female chancellor of the exchequer on Friday by newly-invested Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Prior to her first speech, she emphasized economic growth as a party priority and the "national mission." She will not deliver her first state Budget until the fall, and she will reveal the explicit timeline "in due course."

Treasury officials will receive instructions from Reeves to evaluate the inherited spending from the previous Conservative administration, which she intends to present to Parliament before the summer recess.

Housing and planning were center stage in Reeves' Monday speech:

The national planning policy framework will be reformed, with a new growth-focused approach to the planning system being consulted on before the end of the month. Mandatory housing targets will also be restored. Additionally, the absurd ban on new onshore wind farms in England has been ended as of today.

The Labour government has identified housebuilding as a top priority, with the aim of reducing the bureaucratic hurdles that have hindered housing supply and inflated the real estate market. In 2020, 212,570 new homes were completed under the Conservative administration, according to government data. However, a report by the Resolution Foundation in late March revealed that U.K. households receive a subpar product in terms of both quantity and quality, despite the country having the highest quality-adjusted price of housing among developed economies.

On Friday, shares of housebuilders rose as anticipation grew that the recent Labour victory would spur progress on planning. The party had previously committed to constructing 1.5 million new homes and reiterated this goal in its latest election manifesto, stating that it would not hesitate to employ intervention powers to achieve the necessary housing.

As Britain recovers from a shallow recession and economic uncertainty following Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, and international inflationary pressures, Reeves' comments come at a time when London is struggling to regain its status as a global financial center due to a lack of fresh IPO listings.

The U.K.'s Office for Budget Responsibility predicts a 0.8% GDP growth this year, followed by 1.9% expansion in 2025. The International Monetary Fund projects this year's growth at a weaker 0.5%. Public sector net debt, excluding public sector banks, stood at a preliminary 99.8% of GDP at the end of May, according to official data.

The ruling party's 135-page manifesto promised to create wealth and raise £7.35 billion ($9.42 billion) by 2028-29 to fund public services through closing tax loopholes. Additionally, the party pledged to establish a £7.3 billion National Wealth Fund to invest in steel, automotives, carbon capture technology, and gigafactories.

This breaking news story is being updated.