Britain’s finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Monday the country’s new government had begun the task of unblocking infrastructure projects and private investment as part of a new “national mission” to drive economic growth.

After last week’s landslide election win propelled the Labour Party to power after 14 years in opposition, Reeves and Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed at the weekend on first steps to show they were moving quickly to tackle deep-seated problems.

“We know we can’t turn things around overnight. We face a dire inheritance. But this is our down-payment,” Britain’s first female finance minister said. She pledged to tackle a long-standing shortage of new homes and speed up planning approval for infrastructure projects, including more wind farms, adding: “There is no time to waste.”

Reeves also made a pitch to investors who cooled on the UK after the 2016 Brexit vote. “After 14 years, Britain has a stable government - a government that respects business, wants to partner with business and is open for business,” the former Bank of England economist told an audience at her Treasury department.