Leeds Reforms 'biggest shake-up in a decade' and vote of confidence

Rachel Reeves was in Leeds yesterday to set out sweeping reforms to the UK's finance industry in the hope of delivering much-needed economic growth.

- by Harriet Sutton

The Chancellor hopes the drive to cut red tape and increase innovation, billed as the biggest changes in more than a decade, will turn around an economy which has shrunk in recent months.

Leeds West MP Ms Reeves, who also hopes for increased taxes from a growing economy to help balance her books, said the reforms unveiled in Leeds would help with “reinvigorating the whole economy”.

The plans include measures to make it easier for first-time buyers to get on the housing ladder with increased levels of borrowing and efforts to support new financial technology-fintech - firms grow in the UK.

The Chancellor said: “We are fundamentally reforming the regulatory system, freeing up firms to take risks and to drive growth.