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Rachel Reeves has insisted not to give “false hope” to supporters of building a new rail line north of Birmingham to replace the canceled section of HS2.
The Prime Minister said the government’s transport focus was on “connections within the north of England” rather than the west coast trunk line.
“What I don’t want to do is what the previous administration did.” [did]is giving people false hope,” she told the Financial Times.
Mr Reeves said previous Conservative governments had failed to keep their promises to “level up” the economy, and spoke while pledging to “build” regional growth into government objectives.
The idea for a new railway link between Birmingham and Manchester was tabled by the Labor mayors of both cities in September. It included a proposal to partially fund the project through the private sector to lower costs for the state.
Louise Hague, then transport secretary, said it was “perfectly viable to explore” using such private funding, but government officials said a feasibility study would be launched. .
“I’m not against it,” Ms Reeves insisted as she headed to a meeting with ministers and mayors from the north-east of England. . . Private Investment in Transportation Projects.”
He added that proposals for northern transport would be detailed in a comprehensive spending review due early next summer, but he did not outline their contents.
Under the Conservative government since 2019, the government has promised to “level up” the UK economy, which has long relied on high productivity in the south-east of England.
Reeves said there was “nothing wrong” with the premise, but “there was absolutely no real substance behind it.”
He said changes to fiscal rules in October’s Budget represented a “transformative” approach to the Treasury’s investment decisions outside of London, ensuring that new capital spending was treated as an asset rather than just a liability. He said that this is because it will be accounted for as such.
He also mentioned a £5.8bn National Wealth Fund aimed at growth-oriented capital investment, although smaller than the £7.3bn he initially promised during the election.
Mr Reeves said the policies represented “two big bets” Labor was making in the economies of regions outside London and the south-east.
He added that the National Wealth Fund’s focus on energy projects is itself a “leveling up” policy.
“The truth is, most of them [projects] “Whether it’s batteries, ports, offshore wind, carbon capture or green hydrogen, these jobs and industries are often located outside of London, and they are. “Often,” she added. It is in the north of England. ”
Mr Reeves was speaking after Prime Minister Keir Starmer outlined six “milestones” as a measure of the government’s progress against broader objectives, partly to push Labour’s agenda through Whitehall. It is seen as a means of Goals include improving living standards and building 1.5 million new homes.
Many government officials see these as an indication of the ministries’ priorities in the Treasury’s upcoming spending review.
However, Mr Reeves denied that sectors such as transport and local government that are not explicitly featured in the milestone could have a harder time making the case for investment as a result.
“We’re thinking across government departments, rather than taking a siled approach,” she said.
“You can’t build 1.5 million homes without the transportation infrastructure that goes with it. You can’t increase real household disposable income if people can’t get good jobs that pay decent wages. Therefore, transportation is a key enabler.”
