Reeves promises end to instability as he announces new National Wealth Fund

British economic instability has ended and the new government is bringing investment and jobs back to Britain, the Chancellor said.

In a closing speech at Monday’s International Investment Summit, Rachel Reeves told the world’s biggest companies they can expect “a true partnership” with the new Government as it works to boost growth.

Ms Reeves, who continues to face questions about what taxes the Government will raise ahead of its first budget on October 30, promised to create a tax system that supports wealth creation and investment.

She said: “When we said we would end instability, make growth our national mission and establish a true partnership with business, we meant it.

“The decisions we face will not always be easy. But by making the right decisions to grow our economy and boost investment, we will create good jobs and new opportunities in every part of the country.

“This is the Britain we are building.”

She went on to announce two new bodies aimed at making long-term investments in the UK, using public and private funding.

Delivering on his manifesto promise, Reeves announced that the existing UK Infrastructure Bank, based in Leeds, will be transformed into the National Wealth Fund (NWF), with £27.8 billion to invest in clean energy and industries in growth.

The NWF, which will have a broader mandate than just infrastructure investment, is expected to catalyze significant private investment in key sectors.

John Flint, who has led the UK Infrastructure Bank since 2021 and will take over as head of the NWF, said: “Building on the strong foundations we have established as UKIB, we will get to work, drawing on the sector insight and investment experience we have the market knows and trusts to unlock billions of pounds of private finance for projects across the UK.

“With additional capital to mobilize across a larger mandate, we stand ready to help the market invest with confidence in support of the Government’s growth ambitions.”

In her speech, Ms Reeves also announced a new British Partnership for Growth within the British Business Bank (BBB).

The partnership is expected to help bring together institutional investors, such as pension funds, with BBB to make long-term, fully commercial investments by the end of 2025.

Encouraging British pension funds to invest more in the UK was a key objective of the previous government, and one that the new Cabinet is also pursuing.

BBB chief executive Louis Taylor said: “By establishing the British Growth Partnership, the bank will encourage more UK pension fund investment in the UK’s most innovative and fastest-growing companies.

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“In addition, reforms to the bank’s financial framework, which put our £7.9 billion commercial programs on a permanent basis, mean we can flexibly reinvest our long-term investment returns to increase growth and prosperity across the UK.”

Senior business figures welcomed the announcements.

London Stock Exchange chief executive Dame Julia Hoggett said the British Growth Partnership will help give UK companies “access to significant UK capital”, while Oliver Wyman UK managing director , Lisa Quest, said the NWF is “a significant milestone for the UK economy”.