The Government’s newly published 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy makes one thing clear: they’re picking winners. Like the Industrial Strategy expected soon, this plan signals a more hands-on approach, identifying high-potential sectors and projects to receive targeted support. The aim? Drive growth with focused public investment, rather than ‘leaving it to the market’.

At £72.5bn per year in capital spending, the headline figure is ambitious and should, in theory, give investors confidence to co-fund projects for the long-term. Yet while the Strategy runs 106 pages long, detail on execution remains thin. Notably, no updated project pipeline was published alongside the strategy – a curious omission given the last one ran to 660 projects. The pipeline is promised within weeks and with speculation that it may involve a cull, all eyes will be on which projects survive.

Northern Powerhouse Rail, one of the country’s next major transport projects, received just one passing mention in the Strategy. While insiders seem relaxed, suggesting reassurances may have been made, its relative absence in the document is notable and could point to wider expectations management for all projects to come.

The Government suggests that it is prioritising “doing fewer things better”, a message that sets the tone for a more disciplined investment approach. This raises the stakes: picking the right winners becomes even more crucial, especially if other viable projects are cut loose. While the Government has been eager to portray this strategy as a “technical policy document” it fundamentally remains a political decision with high risk and even higher rewards. Picking winners inevitably means picking losers, so to maintain credibility with investors, Starmer’s Government will need to ensure that of those ‘winner projects’ in the pipeline, as many as possible are shovel-ready and get off the ground in the coming years. If projects in the pipeline start to stall or too many appear a decade or two away, this political decision could bite back. 

And with voters across the UK crying out for more investment in their local areas, a failed Infrastructure Strategy could mean more voters turning to parties promising them the world.

Initial reactions from investors and companies involved in the supply chain suggest this Strategy is a welcome shift toward long-term thinking. However, unless it is underpinned by supply chain reform, credible delivery schedules and demonstrable project viability, the Strategy risks failing to control construction costs and deliver little beyond ambition. Execution, not ambition, will define whether this gamble pays off.

(Photo provided by The Telegraph)