Reeves: Regional investment key to fixing ‘not broken, but not working’ economy
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has told business leaders in the Midlands that the government’s investment strategy will unlock the “huge” untapped potential of the region.
Speaking at a regional investment summit held at Birmingham’s Edgbaston cricket stadium, Reeves also told delegates that the UK’s economy is “not broken” – but admitted that for too many people, it is “not working as it should”.
She used a keynote speech on Tuesday, 21 October, to launch a crackdown on business bureaucracy intended to save companies around £6bn over the next ten years, also claiming that a the government’s planning and infrastructure bill would deliver over £2 billion in savings to businesses over the same period.
The announcements came as the government comes under renewed pressure to reboot the nation’s economy, with Reeves widely expected to have to raise taxes or cut spending when she delivers her Autumn Statement in November, against a backdrop of rising inflation and wage growth.
But the Chancellor says regional investments in large projects such as the Midlands Rail Hub, Birmingham Knowledge Quarter and extensions to the West Midlands Metro system will be protected from wider economic shocks, thanks in part to the government’s self-imposed fiscal rules.
“It’s really important that we do protect the investment that we’re putting in, particularly that regional investment, because the weakness of the UK economy these last 14 years has been because of a lack of growth and productivity. So investing in transport, in energy, infrastructure in data centres and broadband are absolutely essential,” she told Place Midlands.
“If we’re going to achieve our potential and if we’re going to spread that opportunity right across the UK, including to here in the West Midlands.
“This year has been particularly volatile in terms of world events from Ukraine, to the Middle East, to the higher trade tariffs, that countries around the world, including the UK face.”
Citing specific investments in the region, she said projects such as the £3bn private finance-backed Birmingham Sports Quarter and the Broad Marsh regeneration project in Nottingham were examples of the government’s strategy of using public finance to leverage private investment.
“The point about public investment is then to crowd in private investment, whether that is the Birmingham City Football Club, the Knowledge Quarter in Birmingham, the investments that we’ve announced today from Unite Students to Heinz and and other facilities right across the UK,” she added.
“But significant investments here in the West Midlands are reflecting the huge potential, and often untapped potential, because previous governments haven’t put a focus on regional investment in the way that this government is doing.”
