UK to ‘spend billions after we finally break free of Brussels’
RISHI SUNAK will spend billions levelling up post-brexit Britain, including £1 billion to strengthen the UK border.
The Chancellor next week announces a funding bonanza to insulate the UK from the double economic shock of coronavirus and the transition period coming to an end on Dec 31.
Despite the cost of the pandemic, the self-styled “northern Chancellor” will commit billions to remedying the north-south divide. Swathes of the Civil
Service will relocate to the Midlands, and North, while the rules for Treasury i nvestment will be overhauled to ensure they are no longer biased toward London and the South East.
Mr Sunak will also set aside £2 billion for Brexit as part of his Comprehensive Spending Review on Wednesday, upgrading UK customs and hiring more than 1,100 border guards. A further £572 million will help farmers navigate environmental laws and standards after Britain finally splits from Brussels.
Setting out his first national strategy next week, he will also lay down a “massive downpayment” on the £600 billion of investment promised by Boris Johnson to “level up” the country, triggering major projects for fibre broadband, flood defences, roads and railways.
Mr Sunak said: “Obviously, as the Prime Minister has said we would prefer a deal with the European Union and that is what we are working hard to achieve. But any deal must respect our status as a newly independent country” – a clear message to Brussels that the UK is financially prepared to leave without a deal.
RISHI SUNAK will next week commit tens of billions of pounds to major infrastructure projects as he promises to finally remedy the northsouth divide despite the toll on the public finances from coronavirus.
The Chancellor will set out his first national infrastructure strategy with a “massive down payment” on t he £600 billion of investment promised by Boris Johnson to “level up” the country.
Having declared himself a “northern chancellor”, Mr Sunak will seek to demonstrate his commitment with projects including fibre broadband, flood defences and road and rail schemes.
He will overhaul the Treasury’s investment rules blamed for historically skewing funding toward the South East and London, with decision-making focused on longterm objectives rather than instant results. He will also reaffirm the Government’s commitment to relocating swathes of the Civil Service, with 22,000 jobs due to move to the Midlands, North West and North East. The Treasury will set up its northern headquarters next year and is due to announce the location in the coming weeks.
Speaking ahead of next week’s Comprehensive Spending Review, Mr Sunak said: “All nations and regions of the UK have benefited from our unprecedented £200 billion Covid support package. And after a difficult year for this country, this spending review will help us build back better by investing over £600 billion across the UK during the next five years.”
Government sources said he was also considering a state development bank to fund the projects.
It came as Mr Sunak, the MP for Richmond, North Yorkshire, sought to reassure Conservative MPS who make up the Northern Research Group, after they feared their constituencies would bear the brunt of a pandemic-induced recession.
Alongside the review, Mr Sunak will publish the infrastructure strategy, setting long-term targets for levelling up and hitting the Government’s target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
It includes targeted investments in transport, digital i nfrastructure, housing, energy and a shift to green industries and technologies.
Some Whitehall j obs, including those at senior levels, are expected to be moved out to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, as well as another site in the North East, taking well-paid public sector jobs to less prosperous parts of the country, while potentially producing savings for the Government by shedding expensive office buildings in London.
Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, said: “The country is over- centralised, with the most highly paid civil servants all concentrated in one place. They cannot be close to the issues on the ground in the regions. It would be so much better if they were embedded here rather than being in central London.”
But Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor of Teesside, claimed that relocations could go much farther north.
“It would show a genuine, long-term commitment to levelling up,” he said. “Relocating to cities like Birmingham or Manchester doesn’t change the dynamic – bringing them to Teesside would.”