Chancellor Rachel Reeves will confirm £15.6 billion of funding for local transport projects to overhaul creaking transport systems outside of London ahead of the Spending Review
Rachel Reeves will announce plans today to pour billions of pounds into transport in the North and the Midlands.
Ahead of next week’s Spending Review, the Chancellor will confirm £15.6 billion of funding for local transport projects to overhaul creaking transport systems outside of London.
Mayors are expected to get cash to extend the metros in Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, along with a renewed tram network in South Yorkshire and a new mass transit system in West Yorkshire.
In a speech in Greater Manchester, Ms Reeves is expected to say that “a Britain that is better off cannot rely on a handful of places forging ahead of the rest of the country”.
She will warn that the “result of such thinking has been growth created in too few places, felt by too few people and wide gaps between regions, and between our cities and towns”.
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The Chancellor is expected to rip up Treasury spending rules to reprioritise investment outside of London and the South East – allowing her to splash tens of billions of pounds on road, rail and green energy projects.
The current rules assess investment in areas with booming economies as having the biggest impact on growth, which tends to favour projects in the South of England.
But Ms Reeves decided to shake up these rules earlier this year, with details expected alongside the Spending Review next week.
The news will come as a boost to Labour MPs who are concerned over the threat from Reform UK in their heartlands, as well as the prospect of cuts to day-to-day spending.
Today’s package includes £2.4 billion for the West Midlands to fund an extension of the region’s metro from Birmingham city centre to the new sports quarter, and £2.1 billion to start building West Yorkshire Mass Transit by 2028.
Greater Manchester will receive £2.5 billion for projects including new tram stops in Bury, Manchester and Oldham and an extension of the tram network to Stockport.
A £1.5 billion investment in South Yorkshire will include £530 million to renew the region’s trams, while the East Midlands will receive £2 billion to design a new mass transit system between Derby and Nottingham.
In the south, the West of England will receive £800 million, including £200 million to develop mass transit links between Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire and north Somerset.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, said: “For too long, people in the North and Midlands have been locked out of the investment they deserve.
“With £15.6bn of Government investment, we’re giving local leaders the means to drive cities, towns and communities forward, investing in Britain’s renewal so you and your family are better off.”
It comes as Ms Reeves was locked in talks with senior ministers over departmental budgets for the next three years, which will be set out in next week’s Spending Review.
Deputy PM Angela Rayner is still battling to hammer out a settlement on issues like building affordable homes and day-to-day spending on local government and homelessness. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is also reportedly yet to sign off her deal.
Unprotected departments such as the Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are facing real-terms cuts in their spending.
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