“The UK needs a ‘Just Transition Bank’” Baroness Natalie Bennett wrote in her blog for the Left Foot Forward, accompanying her amendment efforts during the UK Infrastructure Bank Bill readings in the House of Lords, “not another bank striving for growth”.
Raising further awareness around unintended, often adversarial effects of growth-promoting policies, she introduced an amendment, amongst others, to replace references to economic growth with “direct improvements of life outcomes in disadvantaged areas”.
The stated objective of the draft Bill to support regional and local economic growth “could mean local growth in Kensington and Chelsea or in the Sheffield constituency of Hallam, which a few years ago had the lowest rate of free school meals of any constituency in the country”, Baroness Bennett argued in her speech on 14 June 2022. “The Government’s rhetoric and the discussion around this Bill says that this is supposed to be targeting disadvantaged areas, but there is nothing in the Bill which says that. Both our amendments … seek to address this. However, mine also has an extra, intentionally radical element in that it takes out ‘economic growth’.
Your Lordships’ House has heard me say before that we cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet and that chasing after growth is a problem. So, even if we target this on the most disadvantaged areas, which certainly need development, is it economic growth per se that they need? Who is the advantage of that growth and wealth going to?”
With reference to the recent APPG review of the recenty introduced UK Outcome Delivery Plans, she further noted that these plans “still do not go far enough and are too focused on growth”.
Following the debate, the amendment was not moved to vote. The Bill has now passed the third reading at the House of Lords, and is currently debated in the House of Commons.
Links
- To follow up on the discussions during the House of Lord readings, please see the UK Parliament website.
- Video recordings of the debate can be found on the Parliament TV website.
- See also the APPG review of the UK Outcome Delivery Plans.