Spending review: Rachel Reeves makes £15.6bn transport pledge

Wednesday 04 June 2025 12:00 am
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Tuesday 03 June 2025 2:46 pm

The federal government has made its largest spending announcement since Labour’s drubbing on the native elections in Might, with a pledge from Chancellor Rachel Reeves to double funding in native transport over the subsequent 5 years. 

A £15.6bn money injection will type a serious pillar of the 11 June spending evaluation, which the Treasury says would quantity to twice the real-terms spending in metropolis areas by 2029/30 in comparison with 2024/25. 

This funding is about to concentrate on city areas in England throughout the North, Midlands and South West in “a step change in how authorities approaches and evaluates the case for investing in our areas”.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce in a speech on Wednesday in Larger Manchester that “a Britain that’s higher off can’t depend on a handful of locations forging forward of the remainder of the nation,” and the “results of such pondering has been progress created in too few locations, felt by too few folks and huge gaps between areas, and between our cities and cities”.

The Chancellor is anticipated to vow a “new financial mannequin – pushed by funding in all elements of the nation, not only a few”.

Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, stated forward of the Chancellor’s announcement: “In the present day marks a watershed second on our journey to enhancing transport throughout the North and Midlands – opening up entry to jobs, rising the financial system and driving up high quality of life as we ship our Plan for Change.

She added: “For too lengthy, folks within the North and Midlands have been locked out of the funding they deserve.

“With £15.6bn of Authorities funding, we’re giving native leaders the means to drive cities, cities and communities ahead, investing in Britain’s renewal so that you and your loved ones are higher off.”

The pathway to progress for Rachel Reeves? 

The Treasury says the funding will unlock a collection of key regional transport hyperlinks, “to ensure that this authorities offers each area a good listening to on the subject of investments”. 

In keeping with the Treasury, the funding allows measures akin to a North East metro extension, the linking up of Birmingham and Solihull within the West Midlands, and an growth of the Larger Manchester Metrolink tram community. 

Funds will probably be break up between ten mayoral mixed authorities – 9 Labour and one Conservative – with additional money starting from £800m for the West of England to £2.5bn for Larger Manchester.

Northern Powerhouse Partnership chief Henri Murison praised the announcement, saying: “This authorities’s determination to again main native transport tasks with severe, long-term funding will probably be crucial to driving regional progress.

“Too many instances up to now, a trade-off was made – attributable to restricted funding – between connectivity inside and between our areas.”

The Institute for Fiscal Research (IFS) assume tank prompt over the weekend that the spending evaluation will primarily enhance the NHS and defence. 

In the meantime, as many as 50,000 civil service jobs may very well be on the road in an effort to steadiness the books. 

This funding is anticipated to be rolled out incrementally from this 12 months up till the anticipated finish of the Parliament in 2029.