The Chancellor has vocally backed a third runway at Heathrow Airport as she attempts to create any measures of growth after the Budget. Saying it was "badly needed", it is the first signs of a government beginning to grapple with the realities and contradictions of power.

Speaking to an audience of business people at Siemens in North Oxfordshire, the Chancellor made the announcement that the Government will support the expansion.

Although supported by many business groups, the additional runway has critics from environmental groups and inside Labour Party.

Anna Krajinska, UK director at T&E explained: "The Chancellor's decision to grant another airport expansion is dystopian. How can the Government aim to meet net-zero by 2050 and simultaneously green-light the expansion of a heavily polluting sector? Especially when solutions like SAF and hydrogen planes are not yet available in sufficient quantities to help bring emissions down."

During the speech, Reeves announced that the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is also expected to take decisions on expansion plans at Gatwick and Luton shortly, and that the Government will work with Doncaster Council and the Mayor of South Yorkshire to support their efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport as a regional airport.

Reeves also confirmed that the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and Aviva will invest £65m in Connected Kerb to expand for electric vehicle smart charging infrastructure towards 40,000 sockets as the Government seeks to create at least 300,000 public EV chargers by 2030. NWF is also investing £28m in Cornish Metals to provide the raw materials to be used in solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles.

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