PM SPEEDS UP PLAN FOR BRITAIN'S NEW BOOM

Boris pledges country will grow faster and better than ever before

- David Maddox and David Williamson

BRITAIN will be put on to the fastrack to recovery this week with the Prime Minister pledging to “dramatically accelerate” construction.

Boris Johnson is expected to use a speech on Tuesday to lay out his vision of using infrastructure to “level up” opportunity around the nation and to fire up the economy as it emerges from the worst of the coronavirus crisis.

Dubbed Project Speed in Downing Street, his plans will create a taskforce headed by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, with the aim of removing bottlenecks and slashing the time it takes to bring schemes to realisation.

Mr Johnson has already committed to more than £250billion of projects but is to spend billions more accelerating plans for new schools, hospitals, prisons and a revamp of the road network.

It comes as the MPs who helped him sweep away Labour’s “red wall” in December issue a 10-point unofficial manifesto of what Mr Johnson needs to do to repay the trust of new Tory voters in the north of England, Midlands and Wales.

Their demands include fast broadband for every household, urgent investment in transport and high streets, a tougher approach to law and order, more apprenticeships and an acceleration of the “levelling up” agenda.