Labour’s first 12 months in office have seen sweeping political change. But what has it meant for infrastructure?
In July 2024, the UK Labour party entered government for the first time in 14 years.
A landslide election victory gave Sir Keir Starmer’s party a strong mandate to deliver its promise of ‘change’.
As parliament now breaks for the summer and Labour ends its first year in office, we reflect on a busy 12 months in the world of infrastructure policy.
What has the government achieved? What does this mean? And what change do we still need to see?
A ‘mission-led’ government
Labour’s activities have focused on five cross-cutting ‘missions’.
From criminal justice to healthcare, these missions apply across government departments.
They also emphasise long-term outcomes over short-term fixes, promising a ‘decade of national renewal’.
Foremost among them is the mission to kickstart economic growth: to “rebuild Britain, support good jobs, unlock investment, and improve living standards across the country”.
And from the outset, the government has made it clear that infrastructure is fundamental to this ambition.
To harness infrastructure as a driver of growth, Labour’s early actions revolved around strategy, planning and delivery reform, and addressing the climate challenge.
Putting the foundations in place
Infrastructure delivery depends on investors and suppliers for money, materials, and labour.
But businesses need to be confident that the UK is a stable place to invest and work. This confidence comes from certainty, and certainty comes from clear, decisive forward planning.
With this aim, Labour has set out its strategic direction over the next 10 years in a range of areas:
- A 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy outlines the government’s £725 billion spending plans and delivery reforms over the coming decade.
- An interactive infrastructure pipeline tool contains data on upcoming public projects, offering transparency to stakeholders and investors.
- An industrial strategy outlines plans to increase investment in high-growth sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and technology.
The Department for Transport has also announced an Integrated National Transport Strategy for England – something the ICE has long called for. The strategy is still in development.
Sounds good… but who will deliver this?
The industrial strategy will be a cross-government effort, managed and monitored by the independent Industrial Strategy Advisory Council.
To deliver its 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, the government has created a new infrastructure body: the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA).
NISTA will also be responsible for updating the infrastructure pipeline.
What’s left to do?
Infrastructure isn’t an end: it’s a means. And to get the most out of it, strategy is crucial.
The government has put the structure firmly in place. But to build on this, it will need long-term, cross-parliamentary support.
NISTA will also need the resources to deliver an ambitious programme of change.
The new body will be hugely important in the coming years, and success depends on it having the right structure, powers, and priorities.
Public spending overhaul
All parties entered the 2024 general election knowing the winner would face huge financial challenges.
Economic growth is low, national debt is high, and public spending is limited.
Labour set out big ambitions. But these ambitions require an enormous amount of public investment.
In her 2024 Autumn Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced changes to fiscal rules that would allow greater borrowing for infrastructure.
The government has also placed great emphasis on private investment, creating a new institution – the National Wealth Fund – to attract it.
In June 2025, the Treasury concluded the UK’s first multi-year spending review since 2021, offering clarity on public spending over the coming years.
And alongside this, it announced its intention to rewrite the Green Book: the guidance that government departments follow when making investment decisions.
What’s left to do?
The UK has underinvested in infrastructure for decades.
The government’s clear intention to reverse this trend is welcome. And its measures to date put the principles in place.
Now, it needs to detail how they will work in practice.
What private finance models will the government use, and how? How will it build the necessary skills to manage privately financed projects? How will it communicate to the public the value of infrastructure investment?
The ICE hopes to see the answer to these questions and more in the coming months.
Taking the brakes off planning
NISTA will play an important role in improving delivery. But the government is considering other areas it must change to meet its goals – not least its ambitious housing targets.
Its main mechanism for change is the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. This sweeping legislation seeks to:
- make it easier to deliver major energy, transport, waste, and water projects;
- balance development and nature recovery;
- unlock more land for development;
- improve local planning; and
- introduce strategic planning at a larger-than-local scale.
What’s left to do?
The UK’s planning system is woefully inefficient.
Between 2012 and 2021, the average consenting time for major projects rose from 2.6 to 4.2 years.
But it isn’t just processes that slow delivery. Brexit, COVID-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US tariffs, and more have exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains and labour markets.
The government should identify and mitigate the main pinch points that might undermine its ambitions. An upcoming ICE policy paper will explore this topic in detail.
In the meantime, publishing the long-awaited update to the Construction Playbook will help improve the assessment, procurement, and delivery of public works projects.
And allowing NISTA to mandate the playbook – rather than simply reinforce it – will help embed best practice across government.
Reforming the water sector
Labour has promised a clampdown on water companies that fail to meet quality goals.
Passed in February 2025, the Water (Special Measures) Act strengthened regulatory powers and introduced higher standards of conduct for water companies.
However, this was just a first step on the path to wider reform.
In October 2024, the UK and Welsh governments launched an Independent Water Commission to spearhead “major and ambitious” change and rebuild trust with the public.
The commission published its final report in July 2025. Its sweeping recommendations include:
- replacing Ofwat altogether;
- creating a new 25-year National Water Strategy;
- creating nine new regional water authorities; and
- ramping up adaptation and maintenance efforts.
Clean energy and net zero
Second only to the growth mission outlined in Labour’s election manifesto was its aim to “make Britain a clean energy superpower”.
This has remained a clear priority for the government.
From changes to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, through green skills planning, to a £6.6 million Warm Homes Plan, this has been one of the most active policy areas this year.
Two of the highest-profile actions have been:
- Clean Power 2030, a five-year action plan for reforming the UK’s energy system; and
- Great British Energy, a new, publicly owned company established to develop and manage clean energy projects across the UK.
What’s left to do?
The UK has made great strides with clean energy.
In 2022, it became the first major economy to halve greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels, driven largely by the transition to renewables.
But decarbonising power was the easy part.
The Climate Change Committee’s latest report suggests that the 2030 target is “within reach”. But the task ahead is still enormous. And in the face of growing political resistance, the government needs to show bold leadership.
All evidence shows that up-front investment in decarbonisation not only costs less than long-term inaction, but delivers better results for the public. The government must challenge the narrative that net zero is unaffordable.
The clean energy transition can create jobs, boost growth, and improve lives. The government should take every opportunity to communicate these benefits and engage, involve, and support the public along the way.
Resilience and adaptation
Of course, it’s not enough to reduce emissions.
Countries everywhere are already feeling the effects of climate change. Our infrastructure needs to cope with the growing demands of extreme heat, rainfall, and more.
And yet, successive UK governments have left this reality largely unaddressed.
In its latest adaptation progress report, the Climate Change Committee gave a scathing appraisal of the country’s efforts to date, and warned that the government must act without delay.
The government has since published its Resilience Action Plan. Acknowledging infrastructure as both a vulnerability and a solution, the plan outlines measures to improve preparedness, coordination, and adaptation.
What’s left to do?
Bluntly: a lot.
The Spending Review’s £4.2 billion commitment to flood defences in England is welcome, but limited. Climate change causes more than floods. And budget cuts at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) raise questions about its ability to address wider resilience challenges.
The third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3), which covers the period from 2023 to 2028, lacks vision and urgency. The government should act soon to address the programme’s glaring gaps.
Better understanding the market value of resilience would help attract much-needed investment. The Treasury should undertake a full national review to define the economics of resilience and adaptation.
And, for an easy win, the government should enact Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act to ensure any new development includes high-quality sustainable drainage systems.
Ultimately, resilience remains an area in which we’ve seen little progress from this government.
The recent Resilience Action Plan is a welcome development, outlining a credible and convincing vision for a secure, stable, and resilient nation.
The challenge now is to turn intent into reality.
Sustainable Development Goals:
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