Labour will create more than 650,000 jobs with its green investment plans, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said, as the party begins a week of campaigning focused on the economy. The £7.3bn National Wealth Fund, a key part of Labour's pledge to stimulate the economy and tackle climate change, will invest in ports, gigafactories, clean steel, carbon capture, and green hydrogen.
Reeves stated that the fund, alongside home insulation plans, will help create 656,500 jobs in sectors such as electricals, plumbing, and engineering. The fund aims to attract three times as much private capital as it invests, with £1.8bn allocated to ports, £1.5bn to gigafactories, £2.5bn to clean steel, £1bn to carbon capture, and £500m to green hydrogen.
Labour is focusing on the economy this week as the campaign passes the halfway point, with polls showing the party heading for a landslide victory. Reeves emphasised that Labour's plan for growth is about making Britain better off, with good jobs created across the United Kingdom, contrasting with 14 years of Conservative decline.
The shadow chancellor will announce on Monday that an advisory taskforce, including former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, will report on how to run the fund shortly after the election. However, Labour faces pressure to clarify whether it will raise taxes to pay for the plans, with shadow health secretary Wes Streeting refusing to deny potential council tax increases and Reeves under pressure from colleagues to increase capital gains tax.
