Labour's newly announced transport schemes branded a 'distraction' from the 'Chancellor's woes' by top Tory

WATCH NOW: Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Richard Fuller speaks to GB News Breakfast

GB News
Georgia Pearce

By Georgia Pearce


Published: 08/07/2025

- 12:19

Updated: 08/07/2025

- 12:21

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed the go-ahead for 50 infrastructure projects

Labour's announcement that 50 transport schemes have been given the go-ahead is to distract attention from "the woes of the Chancellor", Shadow Treasury Chief Secretary Richard Fuller has said.

Speaking to GB News, Fuller claimed that Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander's announcement was planned to "draw attention" away from Rachel Reeves.


Detailing the schemes, Alexander confirmed to the People's Channel: "It's an important day, because we're green-lighting about 50 rail and road upgrades across the country.

"Some of the schemes that have had uncertainty hanging over them for a number of years have now been given the go-ahead.

"That includes rail schemes, such as the Midlands rail hub, also the digital signalling on the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh and London.

"We're building new stations as well as restoring train services to some towns that haven't had a rail service for decades."

Richard Fuller

Richard Fuller claimed Labour's newly announced transport schemes are a 'distraction'

GB News

Expressing his frustration at the announcement, Fuller stated: "Miss Heidi Alexander's statements today really are part of a process of trying to draw attention away from some of the woes of the Chancellor, I think, as we get ready for recess.

"I support a number of the announcements, largely because these were projects that were already underway under the last Conservative Government, but I think the majority of them were already well underway."

Fuller launched a sharp critique of the Chancellor's economic management, accusing her of exacerbating Britain's debt problems.

Fuller told GB News: "The response of this Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been to increase the amount of debt, creating even more burden for the future. And of course, last summer, we went into a period of uncertainty.

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Heidi Alexander

Heidi Alexander outlined the 50 newly announced rail and road projects on GB News

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"The Chancellor was talking down the British economy, and then suddenly slammed pensioners by taking away the Winter Fuel Allowance."

Fuller warned of further instability ahead, saying: "Now we're going into this summer with a huge amount of uncertainty for businesses and different individuals, because everyone knows the chance is going to come back in October and raise people's taxes. We just don't know who's going to be hit hardest."

He added: "We can look at day-to-day expenditure and look at cuts there, but we also need to look at some of those long-term liabilities, the burdens we're passing on to future taxpayers, about how affordable are, things like the state pension in 20 or 30 years time.

"The Conservative Party is under new leadership, we have this opportunity to think about new ways to approach problems that perhaps have bedevilled the cut the country in the past."

Richard Fuller

Fuller told GB News that Rachel Reeves has caused a 'huge amount of uncertainty' for UK businesses

GB News

Asked if the previous Conservative administration did enough to get debt down, he said: "Well, in some ways, I think the Conservative Party in the last Parliament got criticised for trying to do too much.

"The tax rises were very difficult for Conservatives like me to stomach, but that was part of the plan to bring down the debt.

"And the debt, of course, wasn't something of choice. It was largely due to the response to support businesses and people during Covid."