Rachel Reeves’ £15.6bn boost for transport projects across the UK including Manchester, Birmingham and Sheffield has been welcomed by local mayors – but some workers got tired legs during her speech
Rachel Reeves unveiled an unprecedented £15.6bn boost for public transport in major British cities in a bumper speech this morning – but a group of tired-looking workers behind her might have hoped she had a bit less to say.
The chancellor pledged to end decades of “underinvestment” holding back cities in the north and Midlands today as she set out the major new package for transport projects in England, which she said would boost the economy and “create opportunity” across the country. Tram, train and bus networks in Manchester, Birmingham, and Sheffield are among those to receive new funding for improvements and expansions, while West Yorkshire will finally see the launch of a new mass transit system after years of local campaigning.
READ MORE: Rachel Reeves LIVE: Chancellor reveals £15bn boost for cities and towns outside London
Speaking at a bus factory in Rochdale a week ahead of next week’s spending review, the chancellor said: “We want London to succeed, but it is the lack of that infrastructure which puts England’s other great cities, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, at a disadvantage compared to their European counterparts that have this infrastructure, and it helps to explain our underperformance relative to other European economies.
“If we were to increase the productivity of those second cities in the UK to match the national average, our economy today would be £86bn larger.”
News of the much-needed cash boost has been welcomed by local mayors, including Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham – though some eagle-eyed viewers watching the speech live noticed that some of the factory workers stood behind her appeared less than thrilled.
The length of Reeves’ speech meant that they spent plenty of time on their feet, and some of them looked restless by the time she had finished.
Reacting to the broadcast, one Twitter user wrote: “That poor bored guy to the left of Rachel Reeves has done so many eye rolls I thought he was going to take off. He does not look happy.”
Another said: “Those poor guys behind Rachel Reeves missing out on a brew & a bacon butty for the longest speech ever…”
Elsewhere in the speech, the chancellor promised that next week’s spending review will be “targeted squarely on the renewal of Britain”.Rachel Reeves said: “While it is just one quarter, the most recent numbers showed Britain to be the fastest growing economy in the G7 and real wages rose more in less than 10 months under Labour than they did over the first 10 years of the previous Conservative government.“But we know that not enough people are feeling that yet, that trust remains low, prosperity is too narrowly shared.“I know that we must do more. In a week’s time, I will set out a spending review targeted squarely on the renewal of Britain, focused on the priorities of working people by investing in our security, in our health and in our economic growth, to deliver on the promise of change to make you and your family better off.”