Rachel Reeves won't guarantee cash for London Underground, Elizabeth line extensions and Crossrail 2 if Labour win election
| Published date | 04 April 2024 |
| Publication title | MyLondon (England) |
The projects specifically referenced were the Bakerloo line extension on the Tube network to Lewisham, the West London Orbital -an Overground service on existing, underused rail lines running from Hounslow towards Hendon and West Hampstead -and the the DLR extension to Thamesmead. Extensions to the Elizabeth line to Staines and Ebbsfleet are also in the offing.
Speaking to MyLondon during a visit to the Francis Crick Institute with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, on Wednesday morning April 3, Ms Reeves did not make any promises. She said: "I've always been clear, I will not make any commitments without being able to say where the money's going to come from.
"The Government made that mistake in the mini budget which crashed the economy, and risk doing so again with their £46 billion unfunded plans on National Insurance."
In his Spring Budget, the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced a 2p cut in the NICs rate from April 6, adding that his eventual aim was to scrap it altogether. But, he then said on March 13 that ending National Insurance Contributions NICs will not happen in the next parliament, with it remaining a 'long-term ambition'.
The Shadow Chancellor hinted that for more money to be spent in the capital, the UK economy as a whole would need to grow first. She said: "Of course I want to see the investment in infrastructure our country needs to grow after 14 years of mismanagement. But we have to always show where the money is going to come from, and we need to grow the economy to be able to release funds for crucial infrastructure investment."
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has claimed repeatedly that central government is not providing enough cash to London and TfL for large-scale investment. Asked if a Labour government would provide more money to the capital, Ms Reeves said: "I've set out a clear set of fiscal rules, that we would get debt falling by the fifth year of a forecast period, and we would balance day to day spending with tax receipts, and then, subject to that, invest in the things, the infrastructure investment, that we need to grow our economy.
Labour would have 'worst economic inheritance since the Second World War'
She added: "Unlike the Government, we...
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