Labour’s infrastructure announcement was nothing short of a shambles, writes Gareth Bacon
16 June 2025, 20:18
Labour’s infrastructure announcement this morning was nothing short of a shambles. But it reveals a far deeper problems at the heart of this Government’s strategy – or the lack thereof.
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The Economic Secretary to the Treasury was sent out to sell a multibillion-pound plan, and yet she couldn’t answer Nick Ferrari’s most basic questions. Emma Reynolds didn’t know where the Lower Thames Crossing begins, where it ends, or how much it costs.
She even confused the Dartford Tunnel with the Dartmouth Tunnel, some 200 miles off course. This was a car crash in slow motion, live on LBC.
The Lower Thames Crossing matters. If done right, it could significantly ease congestion in one the busiest crossings east of London, supporting growth and transforming connectivity.
But the devil will be in the detail. How it’s funded, when it’s delivered, and whether Labour can actually deliver it. So far, the signs aren’t good.
The truth is this project was already fully developed, consulted on, and greenlit under the Conservatives. If Labour Ministers actually knew where the Lower Thames Crossing begins and ends, they’d know it was the Conservative Government that got it shovel-ready.
But it wasn’t just the Lower Thames Crossing that bamboozled Ms Reynolds. When pressed on petrol prices, she drifted into international affairs. When asked about grooming gangs, she delivered a revisionist justification of Keir Starmer’s U-turn, ignoring his previous dismissal of the victims’ advocates as being on a “far-right bandwagon”.
And it’s not just about one interview. Labour mocked us for re-allocating HS2 money to Network North. Now they’re re-announcing the exact same plans and pretending it’s new, stitching their names onto Conservative delivery. They’ve scrapped road upgrades, launched a £1.7 billion tax raid on motorists, fast-tracked Ed Miliband’s petrol car ban, and handed power to the unions. They cancelled key road links, axed the Restoring Your Railway Fund, and scrapped our £2 bus fare cap. This is a party that punishes communities that rely on affordable, reliable transport.
Far more worrying is the fact that Labour's own Economic Secretary cannot explain or account for major spending plans. It shows the true lack of grip at the highest levels of Treasury planning and Cabinet coordination.
This is a government making it up as they go. Labour are winging it on billions of pounds of spending, unable to explain the details, and hoping no one notices.
Labour’s scattergun approach to policy has already spooked investors and undermined confidence, contributing to weak growth and rising job losses. Behind all the confusion lies a very real threat, the secret tax hikes sitting on Rachel Reeves’ desk. Ready to be unleashed this autumn to pay for Labour’s spiralling costs, the Chancellor herself has refused to rule out another raid on the taxpayer.
What we got today was another confused Minister, a recycled project, and the same old Labour story of high tax, low delivery, no answers. Britain deserves better than this. It deserves a government with clarity, competence, and conviction. A government that delivers on its promises, treats taxpayers with respect, and builds for the long term.
Only the Conservatives, under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership, will provide that.
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Gareth Bacon MP is Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
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