Labour will invest £1.8bn in ports to reverse 14 years of industrial decline

Aerial image of a British port with a ship pulling out of the harbour

Labour plans to deliver the most significant upgrade of Britain’s ports in a generation, with £1.8 billion investment in Britain’s port infrastructure.

This investment will help crowd billions of pounds more of private sector investment into UK ports, harbours and energy industry at our coasts, as part of Labour’s wider plans to end  14 years of industrial decline under the Conservatives and support domestic manufacturing across the country. 

The pledge is part of Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan, funded by a proper windfall tax on the oil and gas giants making record profits, ensuring we invest in British industries.

The Green Prosperity Plan will help support the creation of up to 650,000 good jobs in Britain’s industrial heartlands, by encouraging billions of private investment into industries such as Britain’s clean energy, steel, automotive, and construction industries. Labour’s plan will include investments to drive local and economic growth, giving opportunities to plumbers, electricians, welders, and workers in every single nation and region of the country.

How Labour’s plan for British ports will work

Labour will establish the National Wealth Fund to invest in green industries of the future. This will invest £1.8bn in upgrading ports around the country and supporting good jobs in the energy industry and in businesses like domestic manufacturing. These investments will drive local and economic growth in every region of the country.

The National Wealth Fund is a new strategic body to ensure that when public money is spent building British businesses, the British people will benefit from the long-term return that those investments produce. This will ensure that the whole country benefits from the wealth and talent of our nation.

UK ports bosses have raised concerns about the Conservative government’s lack of investment in infrastructure, which will strangle the capacity to deliver ambitious targets for renewable energy, in particular offshore wind. Industry experts have warned that without rapid investment in ports around UK shores, we could lose the global race for floating offshore wind.

Labour are committed to: 

• Switching on Great British Energy, a new company owned by the British people, built by the British people and for the benefit of the British people, to invest in clean energy across our country

• A new National Wealth Fund to invest in the jobs that can rebuild Britain’s industrial strength

• Clean Power by 2030

Through these policies, a Labour government will invest in technologies like floating offshore wind, hydrogen, nuclear, and carbon capture and storage, which will help secure Britain’s energy independence. This will create a new generation of skilled jobs in growing industries, which will offer people good wages, give confidence in their job security, and provide them with opportunities to progress.