Core Purpose
Create a permanent national Regional Investment Fund that directs investment towards the communities facing the greatest economic, social and infrastructure need.
The purpose is to ensure that communities experiencing deprivation, low productivity, weak infrastructure and poor connectivity receive a fair opportunity to attract investment and build the foundations for long-term economic growth.
Investment Weighted by Need
Funding would be weighted according to need rather than population alone. Communities facing deeper structural disadvantage would therefore receive greater priority.
The working manifesto identifies seven conditions that would help determine where investment is most needed:
- Low productivity — areas where economic output and opportunity lag behind.
- High deprivation — communities experiencing persistent social and economic disadvantage.
- Weak infrastructure — places held back by inadequate physical foundations for growth.
- Poor transport — communities where weak links restrict access to jobs, services and investment.
- Low private investment — areas struggling to attract sufficient commercial capital.
- Inadequate housing — places where housing weakness constrains renewal and opportunity.
- Poor connectivity — communities disadvantaged by weak links to wider economic activity.
£20 Billion Annual Target
The Regional Investment Fund has an indicative annual target of £20 billion.
This is a manifesto working estimate rather than an independently certified final costing and would require detailed fiscal modelling.
Illustrative Allocation
The working manifesto currently illustrates how investment could be weighted:
| Region type | Illustrative share |
|---|---|
| Most deprived regions | 40% |
| Underdeveloped regions | 30% |
| Growth regions | 20% |
| National strategic projects | 10% |
These percentages are illustrative rather than fixed permanent quotas. Precise allocations would be reviewed annually using objective deprivation and productivity indicators.
What Success Should Mean
The purpose of the fund is not simply to move public money around the country. Targeted investment should improve the economic foundations of disadvantaged communities and help them generate sustainable growth.
Investment could strengthen infrastructure, transport and connectivity, improve housing and create an environment capable of attracting productive private investment.
Core Commitment
Create a permanent Regional Investment Fund with an indicative £20 billion annual target.
Investment would be weighted towards deprivation, low productivity and infrastructure need, with allocations reviewed annually using objective indicators.
The ultimate objective is simple: give communities that have too often been overlooked a fair opportunity to build the foundations for long-term prosperity.
Questions for Public Scrutiny
- Which objective deprivation and productivity indicators should determine annual allocations?
- How should immediate deprivation be balanced against projects capable of generating the strongest long-term productivity gains?
- How do we ensure this represents genuinely additional regional investment rather than replacing existing spending?
- What role should local authorities, regional bodies, businesses and communities have in choosing projects?
- What transparency and governance safeguards would prevent politically motivated allocations or poor-value projects?
- How should transport, housing, digital connectivity and other infrastructure priorities be compared?
- How should success be measured — through jobs, productivity, private investment, connectivity, deprivation or a combination of outcomes?
The objective is established, but the detailed delivery architecture should continue to improve through evidence, challenge and public contribution.