The move came as growth stagnates and business confidence has been dampened by worries about the upcoming £25bn bill for additional employer’s national insurance due in April and general mood of negativity.

Determined to shake off business concerns and attract investment, chancellor Rachel Reeves went to Oxford to give her latest speech on the government’s growth strategy, at the Siemens Healthineers factory.   

‘Growth is our national mission, to get more money in people’s pockets,’ Reeves said. ‘We’re going further and faster to get Britain building, unlocking critical national infrastructure projects and stopping the blockers who have stifled growth for too long.

‘For too long, Britain’s potential has been held back. We’ve had years of stagnation and decline. I’m putting an end to that. I will go further and faster to kickstart economic growth and put more money in your pocket.’

A major part of the plan is focused on the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor – known as the OxCam – with the chancellor confirming ‘funding towards better transport links in the region’, while easier planning rules mean new houses and industrial parks will be built more quickly.

Reeves said: ‘Oxford and Cambridge offer huge economic potential for our nation’s growth prospects. Just 66 miles apart these cities are home to two of the best universities in the world, two of the most intensive innovation clusters in the world and the area is a hub for globally renowned science and technology firms in life sciences, manufacturing, and AI.

‘It has the potential to be Europe’s Silicon Valley. The home of British innovation.

‘To grow, these world class companies need world class talent who should be able to get to work quickly. There is no way to commute directly from towns like Bedford and Milton Keynes to Cambridge by rail. And there is a lack of affordable housing across the region. Demand is there but there are far too many supply side constraints on economic growth in the region.’

The anchorstone for the OxCam development will be East-West Rail, linking Oxford and Cambridge, and work will start on a new service between Oxford and Milton Keynes this year, resurrecting plans dropped by the last government. There will also be a new East Coast Mainline station at Tempsford near Bedford, and the A428 Milton Keynes Cambridge road will be upgraded.

There will also be a new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital as part of the New Hospitals Programme bringing together Cambridge University, Addenbrookes Hospital and Cancer Research UK.

Reeves also said the government would support plans for expansion of Heathrow airport and the third runway, although this is likely to meet significant opposition. She hinted that the use of judicial review would also be curbed, presumably to loosen up development and reduce the time between initial plan to completion and final opening of projects.

Looking beyond the southeast, Reeves said there will be support for the building of a new stadium for Manchester United to replace Old Trafford, and a new approach for the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and the Office for Investment (OfI) to work with local leaders to build pipelines of incoming investment and projects linked to regional growth priorities.

There was a mixed reaction to the speech, with the high tax environment for businesses continuing to dent confidence. The upcoming employer national insurance hike is a major concern with the £23bn additional tax burden, while concerns about the new employment rights bill, set to add £5bn a year to employer costs, and rise in national minimum wage, is stifling jobs growth.

Majid Hussain, head of private client, HaysMac said: ‘These announcements are welcome, and could help to shift the gloomy, clouded narrative around the UK. However, we already know that individuals are leaving the UK, and business investment has stalled, so further and decisive action is urgently needed.

‘The country needs immediate reform of the tax system to make the UK a more competitive destination for wealthy investors – at present they are leaving in droves as a result of the Autumn Budget measures. There is a window of opportunity to stem the bleed, but it is quickly closing.’

Achieving a British Silicon Valley is quite a stretch unless there is a radical change to a tax environment that encourages investment.

Lisa Miles-Heal, CEO of accounting software firm, Silverfin. She said: ‘Silicon Valley has long thrived on a “fail fast, learn faster” culture, driven by innovation and fuelled by venture capital.

‘The UK’s ambition to create the Silicon Valley of Europe is bold, but it risks being undermined by the government’s previous taxation stance. 

‘Attracting home-grown investment is going to be tough. The recent rise in capital gains tax has chipped away at investor incentives, making it less appealing to take risks with their own capital. Without a tax environment that encourages investment, the flow of vital investment to a new Silicon Valley is likely to be dampened.’

There were few references to achieving net zero goals in the speech with the focus on reviving growth, and both London City Airport and Stansted Airport have approval for expansion of terminal buildings.

David Walsh, head of public affairs at World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), said: ‘There is no trade-off between economic growth and net zero. As the Chancellor rightly recognises, building a clean economy is the industrial opportunity of the 21st century.

‘But the Chancellor is making a serious mistake by prioritising costly projects like airport expansions that take decades to build, send carbon emissions skywards, and leave real growth stuck on the runway.’  

At the weekend, the chancellor said the UK needed to create a more positive, upbeat climate for growth, after months of doom laden messaging from the Labour government.

Today’s speech was much more upbeat with a promised £78bn projected add to the UK economy in the next five years, but the pressure will be on to get spades in the ground.

‘Low growth is not our destiny. But growth will not come without a fight,’ Reeves said. ‘Without a government that is on the side of working people, willing to take the right decisions now to change our country’s course for the better.

‘That’s what our Plan for Change is about. That is what drives me as chancellor. And it is what I’m determined to deliver.’

A new partnership between global logistics company Prologis and East Midlands Airport was also announced to build a new advanced manufacturing park in the East Midlands Freeport zone to create 2,000 jobs.