Labour's spending plans

With a few months under their belts to set some plans in motion, we take a look at Labour's spending commitments and what have already allocated.

Labour’s manifesto claimed to be fully costed, fully funded and built on a rock of fiscal responsibility, committing to a range of public spending.

Energy
One of the commitments was to set up Great British Energy, a publicly-owned clean power company, which would be paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants. The manifesto lists £1.7 billion of funding for this.

This is part of a mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

The manifesto promised to reward clean energy developers with a British Jobs Bonus, allocating up to £500 million per year from 2026.

In September, more than 40 green energy projects were funded by the government. £88 million of joint industry and government funding has been awarded to 46 innovative projects. Projects include next generation battery-electric bus and developing electric trucks for the Royal Mail and NHS.

In a separate stream of funding, 131 green infrastructure projects have been awarded funding. Some of the projects in the auction include six tidal projects, and a combined 115 solar and onshore wind projects.

Industry
Labour plans to create a National Wealth Fund, capitalised with £7.3 billion over the course of the next parliament. This will be used to support growth and clean energy missions. This funding would be allocated as follows: £1.8 billion to upgrade ports and build supply chains across the UK; £1.5 billion to new gigafactories so the UK’s automotive industry leads the world; £2.5 billion to rebuild the steel industry; £1 billion to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture; £500 million to support the manufacturing of green hydrogen.

Companies developing AI to improve safety on construction sites, reduce time spent repairing the railways and cut emissions across supply chains are among a number of projects set to receive a share of £32 million in government funding.

Infrastructure
The manifesto promised a ten-year infrastructure strategy, which would be aligned with the industrial strategy and regional development priorities. This would include improving rail connectivity across the north of England. The strategy is intended to guide investment plans and give the private sector certainty about the project pipeline. The party aims to work closely with business to map and address the delivery challenges.

There would also be a new National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, to set strategic infrastructure priorities and oversee the design, scope, and delivery of projects.

Labour also promised new roads, railways, reservoirs and other nationally significant infrastructure.

Transport
The party pledged to maintain and renew the road network, with a promise to fix an additional one million potholes across England in each year of the next parliament. This will be funded by deferring the A27 bypass. The manifesto has set aside £65 million for this.

Great British Railways has been promised to deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality, and efficient services.

Technology
The manifesto pledged update national planning policy to ensure the planning system meets the needs of a modern economy, making it easier to build laboratories, digital infrastructure, and gigafactories.

They also committed to fulfil the ambition of full gigabit and national 5G coverage by 2030.

The party promised support for the development of the Artificial Intelligence sector, as well as plans to scrap short funding cycles for R&D institutions in favour of ten-year budgets that allow meaningful partnerships with industry.

Housing
Labour promised 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament.

There was also a promise to invest an extra £6.6 billion over the next parliament to upgrade five million homes.

Since coming to power, the Government has launched the New Towns Taskforce. The group will be working on plans for largest post-war housebuilding programme; creating largescale communities that could deliver hundreds of thousands of high-quality homes to tackle the national housing crisis and drive economic growth across the country.

£20 million was set aside in the manifesto to appoint 300 new planning officers. This will be funded by revenue from increasing stamp duty on purchases of residential property by non-UK residents by 1 per cent.

Support for SMEs
The manifesto has promised support for small business, with a plan for small business. This plan involves action on late payments to make sure they are paid on time as well as making it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to gain access to capital. This comes alongside reform to procurement rules to give SMEs greater access to government contracts.

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has revealed that £3.52 billion (16.7 per cent) of central government spending went directly to 1,525 small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) over the last year.

The government also recently announced a promised crackdown on late payments.