Conservatives say Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor will be more expensive than first thought
Kemi Badenoch says Labour’s calculations “are no longer correct” on growth corridor
The leader of the opposition says the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor will be much more expensive than Labour initially planned due to rising costs.
Chancellor, Rachel Reeves has previously said investing in housing, transport and infrastructure between the two cities will make the area "Europe's Silicon Valley".
“It’s going to be a lot more expensive”
Labour also claims the scheme would add £78 billion to the UK's economy by 2035.
They also announced funding for transport projects, including the East West Rail, connecting Cambridge to Oxford and covering places such as Bedford and Milton Keynes.
Labour claims East West Rail will boost the Oxford-Cambridge economy by £6.7 billion per year by 2050.
However, Kemi Badenoch, Leader of the Conservative Party says, “they don’t have any new ideas”.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Ms Badenoch said: “We want to make sure that we see growth and development all across our country, but I think that they’ve just picked up an old plan which we had been looking at, and I think the previous Labour government were looking at.
“I worry that there’s not going to be the construction companies willing to do it because of jobs tax, inflation, and the cost of boring has increased.
“That means that all the calculations they made when first talking about the Oxford-Cambridge corridor are no longer correct. It’s going to be a lot more expensive. They have made everything worse.”