The Mirror’s Sophie Huskisson was in the room as Rachel Reeves announced huge investment for the North and Midlands – she spoke to workers in the room about what they thought
It’s a headline Labour will want to shout from the rooftops: We are investing a huge £15.6billion package in mayoral authorities to transform the country. It is big, it is bold and it is needed.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed to put money in local communities by changing Treasury rules, which have been criticised for favouring investment in London and the South East. She set out huge transport projects which she said would unlock thousands of jobs and join together services across the UK.
The announcements are a huge win for areas in the North and Midlands, including the so-called Red Wall, which have been crying out for funding for transformational projects.
It will also mean cash is pumped directly into areas where Labour MPs are facing a growing electoral threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Among the plans, major funding has been pledged to expand the tram network in Greater Manchester and an extension of the metro system in the West Midlands. Cash will also be invested to extend the metro in Tyne and Wear and for a renewed tram network in South Yorkshire.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham had smiles beamed across their faces, nodding along in approval from the side lines of Ms Reeves’s speech.
Mr Burnham, who had introduced the event, declared the north-south divide was “closing” – and that the funding announced today means “we can go even further”.
Critics jumped on the supposedly bored faces of workers standing behind Ms Reeves as she delivered her speech at Rochdale’s Mellor Bus, a bus production company. I have to admit they didn’t have the most enthusiastic expressions.
But when I asked staff members afterwards, many praised her speech. One said she was in “shock” the Cabinet minister had come to visit them.
Why the long faces then? Well, quite simply, standing still for around an hour isn’t comfortable. “My legs ache,” was one worker’s immediate response to the speech.
Also, let’s be honest, it would’ve looked pretty weird if they had a grin fixed to their face for an hour and were fist-pumping every time they agreed with something Ms Reeves said.
What struck me more was that, while they weren’t particularly critical of the speech, they were sceptical about the delivery of announcements made. One said: “The speech was good. It’s whether they follow through.”
Another said they’ll have to wait and see if the plans actually “make a difference”, while another simply laughed when I asked if this speech gave them hope. “It’s whether they keep to their promises,” they added.
And that’s the trouble Labour has. Voters have lost faith in politicians. People are screaming out for change and are becoming increasingly impatient with the pace of it.
It will take time for change to come – and for people’s faith to be restored after 14 years of Tory rule. Ms Reeves herself hit out at the “hollowed and shallow” promises made by the Tories for projects across the country.
“The previous Government made a lot of commitments,” she said. “What they didn’t do is put the money in to be able to deliver them. That is the big difference about what we are doing.”
If Labour can demonstrate they can deliver on their big commitments, with people actually feeling a difference in local communities, people might one again start to believe in the power of politics.