the funding will support various tram, train, and bus projects. This initiative precedes the government’s upcoming spending review, which will outline departmental budgets for the next three to four years.

Reeves has faced pressure from Labor MPs to increase spending, especially following criticism related to economic challenges and benefit adjustments. This investment aims to balance fiscal responsibility with addressing regional economic disparities.

Key Projects and Allocations

Trams are central to the investment strategy. Greater Manchester is slated to receive £2.5bn to extend its tram network to Stockport,with additional stops planned for Bury,Manchester,and Oldham. The West Midlands will receive £2.4bn to expand services from Birmingham city center to a new sports quarter.

Additionally, £2.1bn will be allocated to initiate the West Yorkshire Mass Transit program by 2028, including the construction of new bus stations in Bradford and Wakefield.

“marks a watershed moment on our journey to improving transport across the North and Midlands – opening up access to jobs, growing the economy and driving up quality of life”

Six other metro mayoralties are also set to benefit from transport investments:

• £1.5bn for South Yorkshire to renew the tram network and bus services across Sheffield, Doncaster, and rotherham by 2027.
• £1.6bn for Liverpool city region for faster connections to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Everton stadium, and anfield, along with a new bus fleet in St helens and the Wirral next year.
• £1.8bn for the North East to extend the Newcastle to Sunderland tram via Washington.
• £800m for West of England to improve rail infrastructure, increase train frequency between the Brabazon industrial estate in Bristol and the city centre, and develop mass transit between Bristol, bath, South Gloucestershire, and North somerset.
• £1bn for Tees Valley, including a £60m platform extension programme for Middlesbrough station.
• £2bn for the East Midlands to enhance road, rail, and bus connections between Derby and Nottingham.

This transport investment signals a shift from the stringent rules outlined in the Treasury’s Green Book, which guides officials in assessing the value for money of major projects.

The Green Book has faced criticism for allegedly favoring London and the south-east. Labour MP Jeevun Sandher,a member of Westminster’s Treasury Committee,previously voiced concerns about its “hardwired London bias.”

In a forthcoming speech in Manchester, chancellor Reeves is expected to state that adhering to the Green Book’s rules has resulted in “growth created in too few places, felt by too few people and wide gaps between regions, and between our cities and towns”.

Modifying these rules could lead to increased funding for areas in the North and Midlands, including the “Red Wall” constituencies, where Labour MPs are facing electoral challenges.

Rachel Reeves is not the first to address this issue; Rishi Sunak also reviewed the Green Book as part of the conservatives’ Levelling up agenda.

Rishi sunak had previously announced some of these projects, such as the West Yorkshire mass transit network, under his Network North plan, which aimed to offset the cancellation of the HS2 line north of Birmingham.

Following their rise to power in July, Labour reviewed these projects, citing concerns over inadequate funding.

The £15.6bn in regional transport funding announced by Reeves is part of a five-year allocation spanning from 2027/28 to 2031/32. A Treasury spokesman confirmed that this would effectively double the current £1.14bn spending allocation for 2024-25, reaching £2.9bn by 2029-30.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander stated that the proclamation “marks a watershed moment on our journey to improving transport across the north and Midlands – opening up access to jobs, growing the economy and driving up quality of life”.

Liberal Democrat treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper cautioned that the chancellor must now deliver on these promises, noting that “these communities have heard these same promises before, only to be left with phantom transport networks”.

“we must not see people led up the garden path onc again,” she said.

“extra investment in public transport must also focus on cutting fares for hard-pressed families being clobbered by a cost of living crisis.”