Reports this morning claim that the Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to announce billions of pounds of investment in road, rail and green energy projects across the north and Midlands.
The Times reports that a Treasury rule change will allow Reeves to borrow money to fund extra spending on new infrastructure projects, without breaking the pledge that day-to-day government outgoings are met from tax receipts.
The announcement will also coincide with the conclusion of a review into the Treasury’s Green Book, which sets out the rules that determine which capital projects qualify for approval.
Treasury value-for-money rules have been accused of bias towards the southeast because they assessed investment in areas where the economy was already doing well as having the biggest impact on growth.
The report says that
“Ministers hope that the new investment, which can be targeted at areas that the party won at the last general election, will calm concerns among Labour MPs about the rise of Reform.”
