Spotlight: Labour conference review, Heathrow delay and Avanti West Coast nationalisation

Labour party conference has dominated the news this week, with Andy Burnham promising to "break with the direction of the past 40 years", arguing for greater control over essential services. Three major announcements include: Great British Grid for Energy, the Your First Home scheme for housing and a Water Bill to lift the ban on public ownership of water companies and provide greater public oversight.  

For energy, GB Grid could help fund new connections, though pressures remain, including cost and supply chain constraints, and a planning system that is still hard to navigate.

For housing, if Help to Buy is a guide, Your First Home should support new build stock for developers who sign up, boosting demand in a stagnant market and incentivising new build delivery.

Finally, for the water sector, whilst this is significant symbolically, it is not full fat renationalisation. It gives government and mayors more options for dealing with failing water companies, but the main obstacle remains in terms of how to compensate existing shareholders.

With the detail still to come, we will be watching the Budget on 28 October closely.  

Read our full analysis from the Labour party conference here

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Spotlight on next week:

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• The last week of campaigning for the Holborn & St Pancras by-election is underway, with the Green Party leader Zack Polanski seeking to win the seat from Labour. Labour look set to hold the seat, and a significant defeat for Polanski could embolden Labour and turn up the volume on calls for an early general election.

• A number of party conferences starting this weekend, starting with the Green Party of England & Wales (2^nd-4^th Oct) and Plaid Cymru (2^nd-3^rd Oct) and then the Conservative Party (4th-7^th Oct). Luminate will be following all three, and we will be keeping an eye out for relevant announcements for our sectors. You can find a summary of all major party conferences that have taken place to date here.

• Parliament is still in recess for party conferences and will return on 12th October.  

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‍This week’s headlines:

ENERGY

TOP STORY: ✒️ ️Great British Grid to speed up connections and cut bills | Press release from Department for energy Security and Net Zero and Great British Energy

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The government has launched Great British Grid, a publicly owned body within Great British Energy that will invest in the electricity network alongside private network companies and compete for transmission projects. For developers, it could mean faster connections through self-build and tendering reforms, while network operators face a state-backed competitor for the first time, though long-term funding is still to be settled.

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We’ve also been reading:

✒️ ‘People’s Power’ projects to give more control over local energy | Press Release from the

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, The Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP and The Rt Hon Miatta Fahnbulleh MP

✒️ Great British Grid to speed up connections and cut bills | Press release from Department for energy Security and Net Zero and Great British Energy  

📰 Andy Burnham to unveil public body to invest in electricity grid | BBC News

📰 GB Grid: Industry reaction to PM’s energy plan | New Civil Engineer (paywall)

📰 Cost of green transition could be spread among UK taxpayers, energy secretary suggests | The Guardian

📰 UK shadow energy secretary says party would ‘scrap’ GB energy | Energy Voice  

📰 The UK Commits £2.5 Billion to Build Its Fusion Energy Industry | Energy News  

📰 NESO requests extension to issue pre-2030 grid offers | renews

📰 Analysis: Wind and solar save UK from gas imports worth £5.9bn during Hormuz crisis | Carbon Brief  

📰 UK's SSE posts 20% jump in first-half renewable energy output, reiterates outlook | Reuters

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INFRASTRUCTURE

TOP STORY: 📰 Heathrow Airport warns third runway could be delayed by four years | BBC News

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Heathrow Airport has warned its third runway could be delayed by four years, pushing opening back from the government's hoped for 2035 date. The airport says it hopes to secure planning permission by 2029 and open the runway within a decade. The Department for Transport says the timeline has always been ambitious. The runway is expected to cost £33bn and is fully privately financed. The government's climates advisers have said it should only go ahead if airlines pay for cleaner flying, and the planning framework still needs a parliamentary vote, which could slip to 2027. These delays emphasise that planning is the biggest risk to major infrastructure, showing that developers can still expect longer consenting timelines even with government backing.

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We’ve also been reading:

✒️ Transport Secretary to nationalise Avanti West Coast services at first opportunity | Press release from the Department for Transport, DfT Operator Limited and The Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP

✒️ Rolls-Royce invests £300 million in UK manufacturing and engineering facilities to drive aerospace and defence growth and strengthen British industrial capability | Press release from Rt Hon John Healey MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO of Rolls-Royce

✒️ Government explores buying trains over leasing in new rail strategy | Press release from Department for Transport and DfT Operator Limited  

✒️ Heathrow invites local community to have their say during expansion consultation | Press release from Heathrow Media Centre  

✒️ Rolling stock and infrastructure strategy | Policy Paper from DfT Operator Limited and Department for Transport  

📰 Avanti West Coast to be renationalised in March | The Guardian

📰 Burnham declines to back Heathrow third runway amid fresh delay | City AM

📰 Reduction in cost to invest in Britain’s railways | Rail Advent  

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‍DEVELOPMENT

TOP STORY: ✒️️ New first-time buyer scheme to be confirmed at Budget | The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government  

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The government has announced Your First Home, a new scheme that lets first-time buyers without the 'bank of mum and dad' help buy a new-build home with a 2.5% deposit, backed by an initial interest free equity loan of up to 20%. Full details, including eligibility and launch date, are due at the October 28 budget. For housing developers, it should support demand for new- build homes in a stagnant market.  

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We’ve also been reading:

✒️ New first-time buyer scheme to be confirmed at Budget | The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

✒️ New reforms to bring more long-term empty homes back into use | Press release from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government  

✒️ Social Housing Bill to strengthen homelessness prevention and protect social housing stock | Press release from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

✒️ Housing Pipeline report | Report from the Home Builders Federation  

✒️ Two local authorities get C3 consumer grade from RSH | Press release from Regulator of Social Housing  

✒️ New streamlined planning role for Natural England takes effect | Press release from Natural England  

📰 Andy Burnham announces scheme to help first-time buyers | BBC News

📰 Housebuilders get £2bn bounce from Burnham’s first-time buyers scheme | The Telegraph (paywall)

📰 Burnham gives councils more powers to ‘seize’ empty homes | Landlord Today

📰 Burnham commits again to ‘biggest council housebuilding programme since post-war era | Inside Housing

📰 Exclusive: leaked letter reveals plan to cede Homes England’s power to mayors in ‘most significant revamp since creation’ | Inside Housing

📰 Andy Burnham pledges £210m to regenerate UK's high streets | BBC News

📰 Planning data reveals fall in approvals | The Planner  

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