Budget 2024: North East critics claim ‘all we got was cuts’ after Labour axes A1 dualling
by Daniel Holland · ChronicleLiveLabour has been accused of delivering little backing for the North East in Rachel Reeves’ first Budget as Chancellor.
The big news for the region on Wednesday was the revelation the Government had decided to scrap the plans to dual the A1 in Northumberland, branding the project “unfunded and unaffordable”. Ms Reeves also “confirmed” £25 million worth of funding for the development of the Crown Works film studios in Sunderland, though that money had been announced more than six months ago.
North East mayor Kim McGuinness claimed that the investment in the 8,000-job Wearside regeneration had been “saved", though it is unclear to what extent it had been under threat of being cut. The cash was part of the ‘trailblazer’ devolution deal which was signed by local leaders and the former Conservative Government in March, before being backed by the new North East Combined Authority (NECA) cabinet this summer and formally approved for remediation works at the proposed Crown Works site by NECA chief executive Henry Kippin in September.
There was also no mention by the Chancellor of schemes such as the bid to open a £14 million national centre for writing in Newcastle; the future of the Hitachi Rail factory in Newton Aycliffe; or the final £6 million of cash for the restoration of the Tyne Bridge - though she did confirm the North East mayor will receive a single funding settlement from 2026, offering greater freedom over NECA’s money is spent.
Former North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll complained that “all we got…was cuts” from the Chancellor, also highlighting the increase in the bus fare cap to £3, while the Liberal Democrats said the Budget “isn’t what the people of Newcastle and the North East are asking for”.
Labour claimed up to 81,000 North East workers would benefit from a boost to the minimum wage and that the region would get £24.2 million from a six-month extension to the Household Support Fund to help families with the cost of living.
Mr Driscoll, who stood as an independent in the North East mayoral election this year after quitting Labour in 2023, told ChronicleLive: “The rest of the North got railways and infrastructure, but we have lost the A1 upgrade, Ferryhill railway station, and will see bus fares increase by 50%. We have the worst child poverty in the country, yet the budget keeps 45,000 North East children in poverty with the 2 child benefit cap. Despite every MP being Labour, and a Labour mayor, all we got from a Labour government was cuts.”
Ms Reeves’ Budget, the first ever delivered by a female Chancellor, will raise taxes by £40 billion. She also pledged £1.4 billion to rebuild schools, a £1 billion uplift in funding for special educational needs and disabilities provision (SEND), and a “significant real terms funding increase” for local councils.
But Colin Ferguson, leader of Newcastle’s Liberal Democrats, predicted the boost for local authorities would “almost certainly be wiped out” by a “gargantuan” hike on employers’ national insurance contributions.
He added: “For the North East, we have heard little over and above already announced schemes and a promise of more powers for the mayor to spend as she sees fit. This isn’t what the people of Newcastle and the North East are asking for, and they will rightly ask what Labour is for, if the two child benefit cap remains, winter fuel payments are axed, and crucial infrastructure projects like Tyne Bridge maintenance remain off the table.”
Ms Reeves pledged to “restore economic stability and rebuild our public services” and said Labour must “invest in every part of this country, in every region and nation, to create wealth, boost opportunity, and improve living standards”.
Scott Dickinson, Labour’s leader in Northumberland, defended the Chancellor’s announcements, saying they would “fix the foundations and help deliver the promise of change that families and business in Northumberland so badly need”.
Coun Dickinson added: “That means protection for working people, funding to bring down waiting lists and get our NHS back on its feet, and real investment to rebuild Britain. But it also means real help for places like Northumberland. Thanks to Labour’s budget, there will be hundreds of millions made available to fix the potholes that blight our roads, build a new generation of affordable homes and tackling homelessness.”
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