The UK’s next budget will include a $ 9.6 billion investment in transport outside London, the government reported Saturday, as part of plans to reduce economic inequality.
Finance Minister Rishi Sunak will present the initiative during the next budget and spending review next Wednesday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “equalization” program is seen as vital to maintaining the support of the former strongholds of the Labor opposition that backed him in the 2019 elections.
His Conservative party won numerous seats in the north of England on the promise of finalizing the country’s exit from the European Union and creating jobs.
Resources from the transportation project will go to regions of the former Labor “red wall” that supported the Conservatives two years ago, and are seen as compensation for that support.
The finance ministry said in a statement the government will invest in urban regions to increase productivity through train and station improvements, as well as the expansion of the tram network.
It will also include funds to improve bus services.
The government is seeking to speed up travel times, simplify payment and increase service outside of London, amid claims that regions outside the capital have poor services, hurting business.
“This transportation revolution will help address this imbalance by modernizing our local transportation networks to suit our cities and the people who live and work in them,” Sunak said in the statement.
rfj / phz / rl / gm