Labour promises £250bn 'investment blitz' to close north-south divide
2 min read
John McDonnell has promised an "investment blitz" worth a quarter of a trillion pounds to reduce the economic gap between the north and south if Labour wins the election.
The Shadow Chancellor said that the plans showed that a Labour government would "govern for the whole of Britain".
The £250 billion Green Transformation Fund would be used to create one million eco-friendly jobs and reduce the carbon footprint of heavy industries.
Other plans include investment in hydrogen gas, nine new plastic recycling plans and tidal power projects.
The fund will also be spent on previous party pledges including the promise to build 50,000 council and affordable homes a year by the end of the next Parliament.
Details of how the funding will be spent across the country are to be outlined in nine regional manifestos.
The announcement comes after new research found regionally inequality in the UK was among the worst in the developed world.
According to the IPPR North report, mortality rates in parts of England are higher than in some Turkish and Polish cities.
Mr McDonnell said the extra funding would help “bring our country back together”.
He said: “Labour will deliver an investment blitz to rebuild our public services and kickstart a Green Industrial Revolution that will bring prosperity to every region while tackling the climate and environmental emergency head on.
“We’re investing in our collective future and your family’s future to get the economy moving again in every part of Britain, with new industries, better, well paid jobs and communities we can all be proud of.”
Earlier this month, Mr McDonnell also announced a £150 billion Social Transformation Fund to invest in underfunded areas of the UK.
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