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Rachel Reeves set out a series of major announcements during her speech this morning in Oxfordshire, as she vowed to go "further and faster" than previous governments to deliver growth.

The chancellor used the speech to confirm the government's support for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Other measures she announced include a vow to build "Europe's Silicon Valley between Oxford and Cambridge, build nine new reservoirs and redevelop Manchester United's Old Trafford football stadium. For a glance at what was announced by the chancellor - we have this piece.

Following the speech, there's been plenty of reaction - Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the plans had mostly been stolen from her party, but claimed that Labour's new employment laws would destroy any prospect of growth.

Meanwhile, Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye described the chancellor's speech as "the bold, responsible vision the UK needs to thrive in the 21st century".

We're now closing our live coverage, but you can continue reading more about today's announcements in our news story. Thank you for joining us.

Tom Espiner
Business reporter

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Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, says the government plans are "sensible" - if many, including Heathrow expansion and Oxford/Cambridge investment, are not exactly new.

He says "all will get us growth in the long-run", and what you can do to get sustained growth in the short term is "limited".

Ultimately the main driver of growth is gains in productivity - which is down to a combination of factors, including innovation, investment, education, and the tax system, he says. But whether the government can actually succeed in its plans is the "key question", he adds.

With Heathrow expansion, he points out that it has been a long time in the making, with many "stop-starts". A third runway first got government approval in 2009.

He also adds that he's "not sure" whether net zero targets and Heathrow expansion are "completely compatible" given that there is no widespread alternative to aviation fuel at present.

However, he says maybe aviation, which is important to the economy, is "the last thing to decarbonise" after other sectors such as energy and farming. Stopping people flying or limiting expansion when other countries are building runways doesn't seem right, he adds.

As politicians, industry leaders and airlines have been sharing their opinions on Reeves' announcements today, we've also been hearing from some of you:

Isla Sutton, 22, is happy the government is providing backing to transport and infrastructure. "It’ll be good to have more connections internally in the country," she says.

The government should be prioritising areas such as energy, over a third runway at Heathrow, says 25-year-old Douglas Benton. He says he wants to see "a much bigger focus, especially with the amount bills cost".

Earlier we brought you reaction from Heathrow resident Harjit Chola, 39, who is "relieved" to finally have some clarity about the future.

But student Fletcher Rodger, 18, who has always lived in Harmondsworth - just a short distance away from the current Heathrow Airport site - says he doesn't want to see the village "go to shambles" if the expansion goes ahead.

Environmental campaign group Extinction Rebellion (XR) condemns the government's Heathrow expansion plans, saying the government abandoned "any sense of climate leadership".

The group said in a statement that the government’s own climate change committee "made clear there should be no more airport expansion until the aviation industry" started cutting emissions.

"However this government has clearly bought into the snake oil of “sustainable” aviation," the statement adds.

The third runway, the group says, as well as the government "crushing the climate and nature bill" last week, showed the government "has abandoned any sense of climate leadership and its responsibility to protect its citizens.

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Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye has reacted to Reeves' announcement that the government backs a third runway for the airport, saying it would take time to make the plan a reality.

“We have already spent £100m on this project. We are not going to spend more unless we believe it can be done," Woldbye says, adding the chancellor has "made it quite clear" that planning "will be changed and sped up".

“This will take years, it will take what I call Churchillian resolve and lots of ingenuity but we can trust a government that will be with us for many years to deliver this," Woldbye says.

"We will sit around the table together, that is the commitment, that’s also our commitment and I think it can be done.”

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor

One of the arguments the government has used to defend its decision to support a new runway at Heathrow is that it will not generate many new flights. It says the main effect will be to draw traffic from other airports.

The UK government used to make a similar argument about new roads. It said the main effect of building new ones would be to reduce congestion.

However, way back in the mid-90s it reviewed its policy and accepted the growing evidence that new roads also generate additional traffic. Economists call this “induced demand”.

If you think about it, it makes sense. If it is quicker to drive to where you want to go – the route is more direct or there is less traffic – you’re more likely to take the car.

So, the question for the government is this: why doesn’t the same logic apply to expanding capacity at airports by – for example – building new runways?

Harry Low
BBC London News, reporting from Harmondsworth

The UB3 bus from the international hub criss-crosses green fields and drops you off close to the heart of the village where a memorial to residents killed in World War One stands.

Surrounding the village green is St Mary's Church, parts of which date back to 1067, two pubs, the obligatory red post box and dozens of large green signs demanding 'Stop Heathrow Expansion'.

Student Fletcher Rodger has always lived in Harmondsworth with his parents in a rented home and says he has "mixed feelings" about the proposed third runway.

The 18-year-old said: "I've got, hopefully, 70 odd years left in me and hopefully I'm going to see economic growth within my country so that's one feeling.

"Equally, I don't want to have to see my birthplace and everything go to shambles.

"The history here is insane: the bouncing bomb was developed here.

"Most of the village is going to get knocked down; they might preserve a few things like the church... but you can't preserve something that you can't get access to.

"There's people buried here in the church's cemetery. You can't build a runway over people's graves - how can you do that morally?

"It's just very, very saddening to see."

Vanessa Clarke
Education reporter

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As we heard from Rachel Reeves, "Europe's Silicon Valley" has been approved for development between Oxford and Cambridge. As the oldest universities in the UK, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge have had a unique rivalry through the years – but much of that rivalry now lies on playing field or in the river.

‘Oxbridge’, as both universities are sometimes referred to, has had some successful joint research projects in the past – and it’s hoped the targeted investment in a direct train service and plans to build a large scale innovation hub in Cambridge could help the region become the new ‘Silicon Valley in Europe’.

The University of Cambridge’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Innovation, Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, told me that Silicon Valley and Boston in America, two major technology hubs, are surrounded by leading universities and this announcement recognises the important role of universities as anchor institutions.

Universities are struggling financially. Last year 40% of institutions were predicted to be in deficit and this week Cardiff was the latest to announce hundreds of job losses and cuts to courses.

While Oxbridge tends to be more resilient to the financial pressures faced by other universities, both have still felt the effect of years of frozen tuition fees.

Ayshea Buksh
BBC London reporter

Close to Heathrow airport in Slough is Hemisphere Freight Service Ltd.

Mark Billany, general manager of the company says an extra runway would bring down costs for air freight cargo.

Since Brexit, costs have risen for many companies and so this could bring a boost to business while it continues to compete in Europe.

"We've been here before", he says, adding promises of a third runway have "been made many times before and broken".

We've been getting a fair bit of reaction to the chancellor's plans from UK industry. Here's what they've been saying:

"Shot in the arm for economy": A potential expansion of Heathrow Airport would provide a "shot in the arm for the economy" and send "a powerful message to the rest of the world", according to the chief executive of the Institute of Chartered Accounts in England and Wales, Alan Vallance.

"Vital to growth": The chief executive of Anglian Water, Mike Thurston, meanwhile, has praised the government's support for nine new reservoirs, saying "securing resilient water infrastructure is vital to growth".

"A step forward": The government's decision to explore private funding to help build the Lower Thames Crossing is "a step forward after years of pointless delays", according to Steve Mulholland, the chief executive of the Construction Plant-hire Association. He adds that without a workforce to deliver it, "it risks becoming another empty promise".

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Moving away from the Heathrow expansion, we're taking a look back at some of the other announcements made by the chancellor this morning:

• The chancellor has vowed to build "Europe's Silicon Valley" between Oxford and Cambridge - introducing funding for transport, homes, a university innovation hub and the prioritisation of a new hospital
• Nine new reservoirs will be built, with the government letting water companies unlock £7.9bn in investment for the project

• There will be new guidance on building major infrastructure, with the government hoping for "investment in all regions being given a fair hearing"
• Plans to redevelop Manchester United's Old Trafford football stadium have been announced - with public money expected to be used to regenerate the nearby area
• Reeves says the government will invest in two green energy projects through the National Wealth Fund - £65m to an electric vehicle charging company to extend its network, and £28m to Cornish Metals to provide raw material for solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles

For more on this, have a look at Rachel Reeves' speech - at a glance.

Tom Espiner
Business reporter

Airlines and travel agents, perhaps unsurprisingly, have come down in favour of Reeves backing the Heathrow expansion.

But they have also said this needs to be done while developing sustainable aviation fuel.

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) called for government support to help develop a domestic sustainable aviation fuel industry.

Airlines UK said its members were "making progress towards net zero" but needed support on new fuel.

There is currently no viable widespread alternative to fossil-fuel based aviation fuel, and challenges remain around alternatives.

Did the chancellor forget about Manchester Airport?published at 13:08 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January

13:08 GMT 29 January

In her speech earlier, announcing the government’s support for a third runway at Heathrow, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The last full-length runway in Britain was built in the 1940s.”

However, Manchester Airport describes itself, external as “the only airport outside of London with two full-length runways”.

Its second one, over 3km (1.86 miles) long according to the Institution of Civil Engineers, external, was opened in February 2001.

A previous report, external from the Department for Transport in 2016 into airports was more specific than Ms Reeves’ claim and said: “we have failed to build a new full-length runway in the South East since the 1940s”.

We have asked the Treasury if the chancellor had forgotten about Manchester Airport.

Image source, Reuters

With a focus back on Heathrow now, the former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell has criticised the government's backing of a third runway at Heathrow, saying it is "such a huge political, economic and especially environmental mistake".

He fears it will "inflict an irreparable scale of damage on the government".

McDonnell was among a group of Labour MPs who had their whip suspended in July last year, after voting against the government on an amendment to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

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Let's turn our attention to Prime Minister's Questions, where Keir Starmer has been grilled over the government's recently announced plans to deliver on its promise to grow the economy - you can follow along in our live coverage.

Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch took the prime minister to task over what his government means when they say "growth", putting to him that he thinks it's his government that creates growth, but "it's actually business".

The prime minister defends Labour's plans for the economy, and responded to Badenoch by listing organisations that suggest the government's strategy for growth is working, including that the ONS says Labour has the highest investment for 19 years.

He adds that Labour won't take lectures from the Tories on growth, who he claims left the economy a "mess" when they left government.

Harry Low
BBC London News, reporting from Harmondsworth

Inside a red telephone box in the village of Harmondsworth, a sign gives notice of plans for its removal.

What is less clear is how much of the rest of this part of west London will remain following the chancellor’s recent announcement to build a third runway at Heathrow airport.

Harjit Cholia, whose three children attend the local primary school, has lived in the village for 10 years.

The 39-year-old says she is “relieved” to finally have some clarity around the future.

She says: “I really do welcome the decision. I'm pleased that it's finally going to go ahead and we're not stuck in limbo, basically.

“My three kids have are born here and I do love the village but progress needs to happen, the economy needs to grow and we are living in really uncertain times.

“I’m happy to move and say goodbye, cut my losses and have a better, brighter start for me and my family.”

Mark Poynting
Climate and environment researcher

Aviation was responsible for around 8% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, according to provisional government figures.

Aside from a major dip in the pandemic, there has been no substantial change in emissions from UK international air travel over the past 20 years.

Aviation is widely regarded as one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonise, because alternatives to traditional fuels are not expected to become widely available in the near future.

Alongside improvements to fuel efficiency, this means the sector is reliant on schemes to “offset” its emissions, for example by planting extra trees, in order to reach net zero by 2050.

But there have long been questions about the effectiveness of such schemes.

• If you want to read more into this story, we have this piece from BBC Verify: Will electric planes and sustainable fuel make Heathrow's third runway green?

Image source, Reuters

We're hearing more reaction now, from airline Virgin Atlantic, who has said it would back plans to expand Heathrow, but only if the airport's regulatory model is reformed.

"Heathrow is critical national infrastructure and the UK's only hub airport, enabling connectivity and trade to global markets, yet it remains the world's most expensive airport with a service that falls short," a spokesperson said.

"We are supportive of growth and expansion at Heathrow, if, and only if, there is fundamental reform to the flawed regulatory model."

They add this will ensure value for money for consumers, as well as support for a competitive UK aviation industry.

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We're now getting some fresh reaction from the Green Party to Chancellor Rachel Reeves' recent announcement about plans to add a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Siân Berry Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: "The Chancellor talked about the 'costs of irresponsibility', but expanding airports in the face of a climate emergency is the most irresponsible announcement from any government I have seen since the Liz Truss budget," says Siân Berry, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion.

"We are already seeing the impact of climate breakdown on extreme weather," Berry says, highlighting that "this will only get worse if ministers remain distracted by the lobbying of the most wasteful form of transport".

"The carbon cost of expanding Heathrow, Luton, and Gatwick together will cancel out the benefits of Labour's keystone clean energy plan, making Net Zero minister Ed Miliband's task almost impossible."

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The Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tells the BBC he is "opposed" to the Heathrow expansion for a number of reasons - including noise and air pollution, and existing climate targets.

Speaking to BBC Radio London, Khan says the numbers of people affected by noise at Heathrow is already "more than the numbers of people affected by the Paris airport, Madrid, Munich, Amsterdam and Frankfurt put together – that’s with two runways".

He says the city has already "made huge progress" in cleaning up the air, but "still one of the most polluted parts of London, with air pollution, is around Heathrow".

We're also experiencing a "climate emergency", he adds, and have climate targets to be met: "I’m unclear how a new runway at Heathrow allows us to meet those targets".

"I’m going to be consistent, and not withstanding my support for growth, I do not support a new runway in Heathrow", he says.