As she stood at the dispatch box, Reeves opens by saying it was deeply disappointing and a serious error on their part, meaning the OBR. We are rebuilding our economy, she says, pointing to trade deals with the US, India and the EU, planning reforms, an overhaul of the visa system and a change of fiscal rules to raise public investment to a four-decade high.
What ails the British state is that it has built, and is building, what it cannot seem to maintain. A decade of attrition has hollowed out public services to the extent that they struggle to function coherently or plan beyond the next crisis. Under the Tories, state spending grew by just over 1% a year well below the long-run trend of 2.6% per year.
Germany has plans to spend €500 billion to modernise its crumbling infrastructure over the next decade. A new study highlights the challenges ahead - including a potentially catastrophic shortage of skilled labour. Passed by the Bundestag and pending Bundesrat approval, Germany's special fund for infrastructure ( Sondervermögens) is designed to rapidly upgrade Germany's roads, railways, energy supply, hospitals, schools and more.
The Better Broadband Infill Project aims to deliver full-fibre broadband access to nearly 1,800 hard-to-reach sites in the Swansea Bay City Region, benefiting economically challenged areas.
