Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has convened the first meeting of a new British Infrastructure Council, which will consider ways to boost infrastructure investment.
Members of the council, which met on Monday 20 November, include leaders from Lloyds, HSBC, Santander UK, Phoenix, Fidelity and US firm BlackRock.
They are acting in an independent advisory capacity.
Reeves said the council “will help unlock private investment for national infrastructure projects from clean energy to transport”.
“Working with business, I will boost growth and well-paid jobs across Britain,” she added.
According to Labour, the first meeting of the council focused on “the potential for new financing mechanisms for infrastructure that can deliver viable investment models” and “how to ensure potential investors can better understand the government’s strategic priorities for nationally significant infrastructure”.
Reeves added: “Under the right conditions, there are significant pools of private capital available to finance investment in critical national infrastructure, such as clean energy, transport and digital connectivity – all of which will serve to boost growth, raise productivity and create jobs.
“But winning the global competition to attract it will require new models of collaboration between government and investors. The creation of the new British Infrastructure Council will help to achieve that.”
It comes ahead of the government’s Autumn Statement today, when finance minister Jeremy Hunt is due to announce measures to persuade pension companies to invest in UK companies and infrastructure.
Last month, Reeves also unveiled a series of reforms that would see a Labour government “get Britain building again”.
The plans would “accelerate the building of critical infrastructure for energy, transport, and technology”, she told the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.
The reforms would include:
- Speeding up the planning for critically important infrastructure by updating all national policy statements within the first six months of a Labour government
- Fast tracking the planning process for priority growth areas of the economy, such as battery factories, laboratories, and 5G infrastructure
- Ensuring local communities get something back by providing businesses and communities with a menu of potential incentives, which could include cheaper energy bills
- Tackling unnecessary, egregious, and time-consuming litigation by setting clearer national guidance for developers on the engagement and consultation expected with local communities
- Strengthening public sector capacity to expedite planning decisions by raising the stamp duty surcharge on non-UK residents to appoint 300 new planning officers
Meanwhile, last week Labour leader Keir Starmer pledged that Scotland will power Britain’s clean energy future, announcing more detail of Labour’s £2.5bn British Jobs Bonus, part of its mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower.
The British Jobs Bonus fund will invest in Britain’s energy heartlands, backing clean energy infrastructure in the North Sea including hydrogen, CCS, and floating offshore wind. It will deliver industrial decarbonisation at Grangemouth, with investment through Labour’s National Wealth Fund, and also see the most significant upgrade of Scotland’s port infrastructure since privatisation.
The initiative could create 29,000 UK jobs by 2050. Labour’s mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower will support up to 50,000 jobs in Scotland by 2030.
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