Deregulation - Resignation after four months

Reeves’s planning overhaul stalls as senior adviser quits after four

months. Exclusive: Catherine Howard’s exit comes amid disagreements at top
of government about how far to push deregulation agenda. Rachel Reeves’s
attempts to overhaul Britain’s planning laws have been dealt a blow after a
senior lawyer whom she appointed as an adviser decided to leave the
government after just four months. Catherine Howard will leave the Treasury
when her contract ends on 1 January, despite having been asked informally
to stay on indefinitely. Howard is understood to have warned the government
against pushing ahead immediately with some of its more radical proposals
to sweep aside planning regulations in an effort to encourage more
infrastructure projects. Her decision to leave the post comes amid
disagreements at the top of government about how far to push its
deregulation agenda, with some senior officials warning that Keir Starmer’s
latest attempt to kickstart major building schemes could damage EU
relations. Disquiet is also growing among some Labour MPs, with 30 writing
to the prime minister this week urging not to push ahead with some of his
more radical planning reforms. While in government she is understood to
have disagreed with Starmer’s decision to announce he would fully adopt the
recommendations of a review into building nuclear power stations more
quickly, written by the economist John Fingleton. Starmer said in a
post-budget speech last week: “In addition to accepting the Fingleton
recommendations, I am asking the business secretary to apply these lessons
across the entire industrial strategy.” Fingleton made a number of
suggestions, including changing rules around protected species and
increasing radiation limits for those living near or working in a nuclear
power plant. He suggested that infrastructure projects should pay a large,
pre-agreed, upfront sum to government quango Natural England in lieu of
protecting or replacing habitats lost to development. She [Howard] was
bringing forward concerns shared with government departments including the
Cabinet Office and the environment department, which said the review could
jeopardise trade with the EU and lead to widespread habitat destruction.
Those concerns are also shared by some Labour backbenchers. Chris
Hinchliff, Labour MP for North East Hertfordshire, has been leading a
campaign against the review. He said: “It’s time our Labour government
stopped pitching nature as the enemy of a better life for ordinary people
in this country and realised that, for the vast majority, it is a measure
of it.”

Guardian 14th Dec 2025

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/dec/14/reevess-planning-overhaul-stalls-as-senior-adviser-quits-after-four-months