Labour plans to move Treasury north
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell wants to create new £250bn devolved unit responsible for national infrastructure
Labour would break up the Treasury and create a new £250 billion devolved unit in the north of England responsible for national infrastructure, the shadow chancellor has revealed.
In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, John McDonnell said the Treasury needed to acknowledge the mistakes of the past and overhaul the way it thought about spending outside London.
“We’re going to break up No 11. Part of No 11 is going to the north,” he said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“People think it isn’t important, that it doesn’t matter where they’re located. Oh yes, it does. People need to know what lives people are living in those areas.”
Challenging claims the move was just a gimmick, he said “it isn’t just relocating the unit, it’s relocating decision-making as well. But actually the relocation of parts of No 11 I think is significant, because you do want the civil servants meeting up with businesses and civic leaders and others.”
The new unit will be known as the National Transformation Fund, with a decade-long infrastructure pot, “which could be used to bolster the northern transport system”, says The Independent.
The Guardian says McDonnell is “yet to draw up detailed plans about how decision-making over infrastructure would be devolved to local areas, or where the unit would be based”, although he is due to meet the region’s metro mayors to discuss the plans in the coming weeks.
The proposal comes five years after David Cameron and George Osborne announced their Northern Powerhouse initiative to rebalance the UK’s lopsided economy.
The results have been mixed, with a recent report by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) North think tank concluding its progress has been “undermined” by austerity. However, plans to reorientate how and where money is spent away from the south east have seen growing support from across the political spectrum.
In June, the Yorkshire Post and 33 other local newspapers teamed up to promote the Power Up The North campaign.
Labour have also mooted the idea of moving parts of the Bank of England to Birmingham, while both Boris Johnson has said he would beef up the role of Northern Powerhouse minister in his Cabinet.
Meanwhile, the Brexit Party’s new manifesto sets out billions of extra spending to help boost the UK’s most deprived regions, to be paid for by scrapping what its leader Nigel Farage calls the “ludicrous” HS2 rail link.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - April 21, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - devilish decrees, biblical blunders, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 carefully selected cartoons about the Trump-Daniels jury selection process
Cartoons Artists take on a stress-free life, rare peers, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Loire Valley Lodges review: sleep, feast and revive in treetop luxury
The Week Recommends Forest hideaway offers chance to relax and reset in Michelin key-winning comfort
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Five key takeaways from Jeremy Hunt's Autumn Statement
The Explainer Benefits rise with higher inflation figure, pension triple lock maintained and National Insurance cut
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Should the UK relax bank ring-fencing rules?
Talking Point Treasury minister said he hopes to ‘boost competitiveness’ in the City with easing of regulations
By Richard Windsor Published
-
Should caps on bankers’ bonuses be scrapped?
Talking Point New chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng believed to be planning contentious move to ‘boost the City’
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right now
Speed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?
Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?
Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday deals
Speed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from London
Speed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
By The Week Staff Published