To boost growth, the chancellor calls for an activist government, not necessarily a bigger one; partnering with the private sector, but also cutting regulation and devolving economic power to regional leaders. In a welcome break from Treasury orthodoxy, Ms Reeves is considering giving devolved institutions control over major tax revenues that have traditionally been hoarded in Whitehall. She also made a forthright case for Britain’s realignment with the European single market. While much of the speech restated existing government policy, the pro-EU tilt was discernibly new. It was made more prominent by the unusual absence of any passages celebrating relations with the US.