CliffNotes
- Rachel Reeves to announce £15bn for transport projects
- The investment package is aimed at boosting infrastructure across the North, Midlands and West Country
Rachel Reeves to announce £15bn for transport projects
What Happened
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to unveil a £15.6bn transport investment package aimed at boosting infrastructure across the North, Midlands and West Country. The cash will fund tram, train and bus improvements, including major projects in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and the West Midlands.
Greater Manchester will get £2.5bn to extend tram services to Stockport and expand stops in Bury and Oldham. West Yorkshire will receive £2.1bn to kick off its long-awaited mass transit network by 2028, and the West Midlands will get £2.4bn for tram expansion from Birmingham city centre. Other regions, including South Yorkshire, the North East and the East Midlands, will also see sizeable allocations.
The announcement comes just ahead of the Treasury’s spending review and marks a deliberate shift away from London-centric spending patterns, long criticised for leaving other parts of England behind.
What Next
This transport boost forms part of a five-year plan running from 2027 to 2032 and will double current regional transport spending. But it’s not just about the cash—Reeves is also rewriting the Treasury’s “Green Book”, a set of rules used to assess whether big infrastructure projects are worth funding. For years, critics have argued it has favoured London and the South East, leaving the North and Midlands at a disadvantage.
Labour’s changes could rebalance the map—but they’re not without controversy. Some of the projects announced today were previously flagged by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government under the “Network North” plan. Labour says it reviewed and re-costed those schemes to make them viable, but opposition parties are already calling for more clarity—and action.
Treasury officials say annual spending on regional transport will grow from £1.14bn in 2024 to nearly £3bn by 2029. But questions remain about timelines, delivery, and how much of this will reach the areas that need it most. The Liberal Democrats warned that voters in the North have heard these kinds of promises before—and won’t be easily convinced without real change on the ground.
Reeves is expected to frame the announcement in a Manchester speech today as the start of a new chapter in regional growth: one where transport investment goes hand-in-hand with jobs, opportunity, and long-overdue levelling up.
