Opinion | Keep infrastructure and politics apart
With an election looming, it’s time to keep infrastructure and politics apart
Infrastructure is one of the most powerful tools we have to shape a positive future for society. While the investment and decision making around infrastructure often feels entwined with politics, we need to make the case for a longer-term view that transcends electoral cycles.
JAMES CORRIGAN
Separation of the two matters is needed now more than ever and not only as the prospect of a General Election starts to loom. There is growing consensus that what we categorically need to see is long-term commitment – so that the industry can have the confidence and resources it requires to deliver to its full potential.
Infrastructure has a crucial role to play in supporting the nation’s objectives of stimulating economic growth with improved productivity; accelerating the transition to net zero; and addressing inclusion and inequality issues across the country. But to deliver on this, we first need to strengthen a number of our industry’s foundations.
The sector flourishes when it has certainty of work. A firm pipeline allows businesses to plan resources and to stimulate investment in skills and capacity across the board.
It provides the right conditions for money to be spent on digitalisation and productivity improvements – which, with their large upfront cost, can be tricky to justify if firms do not have this long-term perspective or visibility of work.
Needless to say, achieving this is difficult if the political winds keep changing. We have already felt the whiplash of the shift from “Project Speed” under Boris Johnson, to the recent Budget’s rowing back on spending and timescales.
There is a long way to go before the next election, but with Labour leading in the polls, the infrastructure sector will be bracing for further shifts in investment priorities.
ELEVATING INFRASTRUCTURE BEYOND POLITICS
The sector would benefit from the security of decisions that go beyond party politics. Creating the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) was designed in part to address uncertainty and bridge political cycles – a role it has played well over the past eight years.
Nonetheless, there remains an opportunity to give greater authority and importance to the NIC and the Infrastructure & Projects Authority (IPA) to reinforce this success.
An early commitment to continue support for the NIC and its existing priorities in party manifestos would be hugely welcome, in turn giving a clear mandate to the IPA to continue its work to support the delivery of government-led programmes.
“With Labour leading in the polls, the infrastructure sector will be bracing for further shifts in investment prioritiesThis need not reduce the role of the government, but it could shift the focus to the UK’s next set of long-term goals, rather than risking reversing existing plans and diluting commitments relating to net zero and climate resilience.
For this to succeed, it requires a shift in mentality from the government and a commitment to take a longer-term view which looks beyond election cycles and the next fiscal announcement, even if current policy was introduced by different ministers or a different party.
This may not come naturally to governments, but getting it right would put infrastructure in a much better place to benefit the country as a whole.
As we look ahead to the prospect of the country going to the polls by January 2025, now is the time to agree that infrastructure should be taken off the table – setting the UK on a new, committed and solid path.
- James Corrigan is UK managing director, infrastructure at Turner & Townsend