Labour plans to move Treasury north
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell wants to create new £250bn devolved unit responsible for national infrastructure

Labour would break up the Treasury and create a new £250 billion devolved unit in the north of England responsible for national infrastructure, the shadow chancellor has revealed.
In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, John McDonnell said the Treasury needed to acknowledge the mistakes of the past and overhaul the way it thought about spending outside London.
“We’re going to break up No 11. Part of No 11 is going to the north,” he said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“People think it isn’t important, that it doesn’t matter where they’re located. Oh yes, it does. People need to know what lives people are living in those areas.”
Challenging claims the move was just a gimmick, he said “it isn’t just relocating the unit, it’s relocating decision-making as well. But actually the relocation of parts of No 11 I think is significant, because you do want the civil servants meeting up with businesses and civic leaders and others.”
The new unit will be known as the National Transformation Fund, with a decade-long infrastructure pot, “which could be used to bolster the northern transport system”, says The Independent.
The Guardian says McDonnell is “yet to draw up detailed plans about how decision-making over infrastructure would be devolved to local areas, or where the unit would be based”, although he is due to meet the region’s metro mayors to discuss the plans in the coming weeks.
The proposal comes five years after David Cameron and George Osborne announced their Northern Powerhouse initiative to rebalance the UK’s lopsided economy.
The results have been mixed, with a recent report by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) North think tank concluding its progress has been “undermined” by austerity. However, plans to reorientate how and where money is spent away from the south east have seen growing support from across the political spectrum.
In June, the Yorkshire Post and 33 other local newspapers teamed up to promote the Power Up The North campaign.
Labour have also mooted the idea of moving parts of the Bank of England to Birmingham, while both Boris Johnson has said he would beef up the role of Northern Powerhouse minister in his Cabinet.
Meanwhile, the Brexit Party’s new manifesto sets out billions of extra spending to help boost the UK’s most deprived regions, to be paid for by scrapping what its leader Nigel Farage calls the “ludicrous” HS2 rail link.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
June 22 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a SpaceX flight, Bibi pulling Donald Trump toward war, and an ICE agent looking like a bank robber
-
5 bunker-busting cartoons about the Israel-Iran war
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on Iran waiting for Pete Hegseth to leak war plans and Donald Trump's wish for a Nobel prize
-
Malaysia's delicious food and glorious beaches
The Week Recommends From 'colourful' George Town to the 'jungled interior' of Langkawi, Malaysia is incredibly diverse
-
Is Rachel Reeves going soft on non-doms?
Today's Big Question Chancellor is reportedly considering reversing controversial 40% inheritance tax on global assets of non-doms, after allegations of 'exodus' of rich people
-
Pocket change: The demise of the penny
Feature The penny is being phased out as the Treasury plans to halt production by 2026
-
How the US bond market works – and why it matters
The Explainer Donald Trump was forced to U-turn on tariffs after being 'spooked' by rise in Treasury yields
-
US Treasuries were a safe haven for investors. What changed?
Today's Big Question Doubts about America's fiscal competence after 'Liberation Day'
-
Airport expansion: is Labour choosing growth over the environment?
Today's Big Question Government indicates support for third Heathrow runway and expansion of Gatwick and Luton, despite climate concerns
-
Will Rachel Reeves have to raise taxes again?
Today's Big Question Rising gilt yields and higher debt interest sound warning that Chancellor may miss her Budget borrowing targets
-
What does Trump's Treasury secretary pick mean for the economy?
In the Spotlight Scott Bessent was once a Democratic donor. Now he'll serve Trump.
-
Will Keir Starmer scrap the two-child benefit cap?
Today's Big Question PM signals 'change in tone' as Labour rebels prepare to back amendment calling for immediate end to controversial 'social cleansing' policy