Starmer should copy India to solve dispute with farmers

India is not a country usually associated with the fair distribution of wealth but even there, the government has displayed a determination to do right by its citizens. Which is not something that can be said of Sir Keir Starmer’s administration.

- CHRIS BLACKHURST

When land is compulsorily purchased in India, the price paid is typically a multiple of the market value. But in the UK, the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill gives councils powers to buy property at its current value, ignoring the present system that bases the price on what the site would be worth once it is developed.

Compulsory purchase forms a central plank in Starmer’s avowed intention to “push past the Nimbyism”, to overrule the “blockers” and build homes, hospitals, schools and nuclear power stations. Even at the press conference for her spring statement, Rachel Reeves took a swipe at the “bats and newts” holding up construction work. It’s been a constant refrain as the chancellor drives forward with her economic growth agenda to bulldoze any obstacles in its path.