Labour announces infrastructure review

The Labour Party has named the former head of Siemens UK as the leader of a review into infrastructure delivery.

Juergen Maier, who was chief executive of the rail company from July 2014 to December 2019 and is currently non-executive chair of the Digital Catapult business group, will lead work for the opposition party to see how infrastructure can be delivered better, more quickly and with value for money.

Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said: “Thirteen years of costly failure has held our country back. Labour are serious about delivering transport infrastructure fit for the century ahead. That’s why I’m delighted Juergen Maier will lead an expert review on delivering infrastructure better, faster and cost-effectively.

“Conservative chaos on rail infrastructure has seen costs soar, ambitions slashed and communities robbed of better services. Britain deserves better. Labour will draw on decades of industry experience to learn lessons, find practical solutions and turbocharge growth.”

The review will examine issues including the planning system, how to unlock growth around projects, leverage investment and boost jobs and supply chains, she added.

She did not name others involved in the review but said it would “draw on the expertise of the brightest and the best to improve connectivity, drive growth in the areas that need it most and deliver infrastructure fit for the century ahead”.

Maier is a British-Austrian national who moved to the UK from Germany in 1974 and worked in various roles at Siemens for 33 years.

He said: “We can sit back and criticise the mess we have made of our UK railway and urban transport (and I've done plenty of that), or you can get involved to try and do something about it.

“We can and have every chance of getting UK rail and urban transport to live up to what our nation expects from such a great engineering and innovation nation.”

With a general election due by mid-January 2025 the Labour Party’s policy on infrastructure will be watched closely by industry. However, it has yet to reveal policies on a number of issues.

After the cancellation of the second leg of HS2 in October, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he could not commit to reversing the policy and would have to gauge the current progress of transport schemes if the party comes to power.

Construction News approached the Conservative Party for comment.