One year of Labour: an infrastructure snapshot

Britain’s infrastructure wheels are finally beginning to turn one year into Labour’s first term. £725 billion of infrastructure investment was confirmed in the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy and the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy 2025 has been released.

However, there’s no denying the elephant in Parliament. There’s been a long wait on clarification of the project pipeline itself, which has only stymied the ability of construction businesses to plan and deterred much-needed private sector investment.

With Labour’s hopes of economic growth pinned on mobilising its infrastructure strategy, Karl Horton, BCIS’s head of data services, weighs up Labour’s progress over the last year, and how infrastructure reform might be achieved.

Thoughts on Labour’s infrastructure approach?

Labour implemented the right sentiments from the off in its manifesto. Investment in infrastructure was recognised for its role in economic reform, and commitments to removing planning barriers and upskilling workers to facilitate growth were the correct courses of action.

There’s no denying the government has put its money where its mouth is in the past month too. £15.6 billion for transport projects, £14.2 billion for Sizewell C, and £9 billion for maintenance work on health, education and justice estates in 2025-26. These are welcome injections to get the ball rolling.

However, you can’t ignore the absence of a fully fleshed-out pipeline. In an ideal world, this should have been prioritised within the new government’s first six months. Labour has made some funding inroads, now it’s time for long-term action.

How well has Labour handled major projects?

When it comes to major infrastructure, Labour has made obvious commitments over long-term choices. For instance, the commitment to complete the Old Oak Common Station in West London as part of HS2 wasn’t a particularly progressive move; the government had already invested in the tunnel boring machines required for the project.

Understandably, the government is cautious about the huge overspend threat. At the start of 2025, 12% of projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) were red-rated as currently unachievable⁽¹⁾ – the highest proportion since the GMPP’s creation 12 years ago.

That said, it’s no use waiting for high materials costs and labour shortages to be resolved. These are long-term problems and waiting for the markets to brighten is only going to stall momentum on major initiatives.

It goes back to clearing up the Infrastructure Pipeline. With this in place, attracting private sector investment to fund big projects will be more viable.

Great British Railways exists to improve the passenger experience. What about rail infrastructure?

British Rail was nationalised for nearly 50 years before it was privatised in the mid-to-late 1990s. While the government isn’t reinventing the wheel with Great British Railways, the franchises, contracts and regulatory bodies in place today make re-nationalisation highly complex.

The government has gained ground since it’s manifesto pledges, namely by passing the Public Ownership Bill that enables the transfer of power from private to public hands, but there is still a huge mountain looming.

A vast amount of leg work is needed to overhaul our rail infrastructure. While the government has allocated significant capital for rail enhancements, the worry is necessary improvements could take so long that maintenance work will be needed soon after. On all large infrastructure schemes, there must be some degree of private sector involvement. It’s unrealistic to think otherwise.

Is construction ready to take on Labour’s pipeline?

There’s huge appetite for infrastructure development, but the industry faces the same challenges that have existed for at least last two decades. If Labour doesn’t address these head on, it risks undermining its entire economic campaign. That’s the bottom line.

Capacity is perhaps the biggest problem. Undertaking complex, large-scale schemes like the Lower Thames Crossing requires specialists. Labour’s aim is to substitute overseas labour with training a domestic supply but if this isn’t working, the government must be upfront and prepared to change tack.

Again, clarity of the pipeline is crucial. It provides confidence to incite action, be that construction businesses training workers to meet a guaranteed demand, or private equity firms committing to projects with a confirmed ROI.

What next?

It will be interesting to see if trends in certain materials prices change following recent tariff adjustments. A redirection of cheaper resources of the right quality to the UK could bring significant benefits for construction inflation.

Regardless, Labour needs to change the infrastructure narrative. We want the UK to be a haven for foreign investment and delaying legacy projects will not secure that future. Multi-billion-pound mega projects don’t happen overnight so prioritising the right infrastructure projects that make us as enticing as possible to private investors is paramount.

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One year of Labour

More commentary on the government’s first year in power:

One year of Labour: housing figures show work to do

One year of Labour: BCIS chief economist says government is ‘turning a corner’

^{(1) GOV.UK –  Infrastructure and Projects Authority Annual Report 2023-24 – here}