Labour urged to place trade union members on wealth fund board

Campaigners claim move would offset City influence over infrastructure task force and better share benefits. The government is being urged to install trade union members on the board of its new £7.3bn national wealth fund to help offset the influence of big banks and ensure that it is geared towards hitting green targets and bringing “shared prosperity” to the UK population.

It is part of a wider set of recommendations set out by the campaign group Positive Money, aimed at shaping the governance and investment plans of the national wealth fund (NWF), which was launched by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, after the July election.

The NWF is part of government efforts to attract billions of pounds of private-sector cash – roughly £3 for every £1 of taxpayer cash – for big infrastructure projects across the UK, including ports, gigafactories and hydrogen and steel projects. The government is hoping that putting £7.3bn of public money forward will persuade private funders to put their own money on the line. Continue reading…