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Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Prioritise British workers if you want government contracts, Labour tells companies
Labour will tell companies that they must prioritise British workers if they want to win contracts to build roads, hospitals and power plants. Downing Street is to rewrite the bidding rules for public projects so that firms are required to demonstrate how they will create jobs in the UK. The move is designed to ensure that taxpayers feel more of the benefits from Rachel Reeves's £725 billion spending spree on infrastructure. The Chancellor said the sum would be spent over the next 10 years to fix 'crumbling' roads and public buildings and to deliver more houses. Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, told The Telegraph: 'Whether it's building roads, railways or schools, we want to open up opportunities on major infrastructure projects for firms that boost British jobs and skills. 'The new rules will deliver on our Plan for Change by rewarding companies that put money in working people's pockets as we invest in the country's future.' Public bodies will have to give greater weight to bids that prioritise British workers by either creating more jobs or boosting skills and education. That could include creating more apprenticeships and industry placements, or by opening up roles for young people leaving foster care and prison. Ministers will introduce a requirement for public bodies to monitor companies and make sure that they are following through on the promises they made. Whitehall departments, councils and quangos have to apply rules around economic, social and environmental benefits when awarding contracts. Those rules will now be rewritten to prioritise British jobs, with the changes expected to be introduced following a consultation with businesses. Downing Street hopes the reforms will mean that communities, in particular across the north of England, feel greater benefits from infrastructure spending. Ms Reeves is set to spend over £100 billion on projects in former industrial areas after rewriting Treasury rules to divert investment away from London. The splurge is the latest sign of No 10's jitters over Reform which, fuelled by a surge in support across the Red Wall, has taken a lead in the polls. Nigel Farage's party has attempted to outflank Labour to the left on jobs by committing to the reindustrialisation of former manufacturing heartlands. It has pledged to reopen coal mines and steelworks and to bring utilities such as electricity and water at least 50 per cent back into public ownership. Ms Reeves is pinning her hopes on infrastructure spending to turn around the UK's ailing economy and cancel out the damage from her budget tax rises. She said: 'For too long, our infrastructure – our schools and hospitals, or our roads and bridges – have been left to crumble, holding back communities and stunting economic growth. 'This was a dereliction of duty by previous governments overseeing an era of managed decline, but it ends with this one. 'We are investing in Britain's future, brick by brick, road by road and track by track. The strategy will rebuild people's pride in their homes, while growing the economy, and putting more money in people's pockets.' Earlier this year, the Chancellor rewrote her fiscal rules to change how national debt is calculated and free up £50 billion for long-term investment projects. It means that over the next decade at least £725 billion will be spent on major projects such as new nuclear power plants, hospitals and roads. Ms Reeves will this week unveil Labour's long-awaited infrastructure strategy, which will set out how ministers plan to achieve value for money. It includes setting up a National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority to help ensure projects are delivered on time and on budget. But the spending spree will fuel further concerns about spiralling national debt and the prospect of more damaging tax rises coming in autumn. The Tories warned that Labour is set to spend almost £80 billion more on interest payments by the end of the decade than had previously been planned. Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said the figures showed that Ms Reeves has a 'debt addiction', which is causing her to throw 'money down the drain'. He said: 'Rachel Reeves hasn't turned on the spending taps, she's recklessly opened the spending floodgates. 'This is unsustainable, dishonest and deeply irresponsible. Hard-working families will be left to pay the price.'
Washington Post
08-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
What the U.S.-U.K. trade deal Trump announced means for Britain
LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed a 'fantastic, historic' day as he joined President Donald Trump in announcing a new trade deal between their countries — an agreement Starmer said would protect thousands of British jobs. Every British prime minister since the 2016 Brexit vote to leave the European Union has sought to secure a trade deal with the United States that they could trumpet. But the outlines of the agreement announced Thursday did not amount to the prize the United Kingdom has been seeking. Although the deal shields Britain from some of the impact of Trump's tariffs, it leaves the U.K. no better off on U.S. trade than it was before Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on countries around the world, including Britain.
