Responding to Rishi Sunak winning the latest Conservative Party race to be Prime Minister, Simon McWhirter said: 

“This is a chance for a fresh start at the top of government and to put in place the strategic long-range policies that can turn around the UK’s fortunes on energy security and cost of living; address the threats to climate and nature head-on, and turbocharge our economic recovery. In his last campaign to become PM, Rishi Sunak rightly promised to lead a national effort to cut energy waste and insulate millions of homes. That would help tick every box. Our industry is ready to support him to deliver on it.

The new PM also has an opportunity to ditch controversial and unwise policies such as the recently mooted Investment Zones, where planning and environmental protections were set to be torn up. This was a recipe for more conflict and delay over new home and building developments. Businesses don’t want a race to the bottom. Instead, they need certainty and ambition to deliver much-needed green growth and investment. That’s why our planning system needs to be overhauled to bring it into line with the UK’s legally-binding climate and nature commitments. ” 

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