Responding to figures showing a fall in infrastructure spending following the vote to leave the European Union, Jon Trickett, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary said: 

“A long-term lack of investment has left many parts of the country less competitive than they ought to be. Today’s news that Brexit is leading to lower levels of investment can only make things worse. 

“Infrastructure is the bedrock that keeps our country and our economy working. The Government should be taking advantage of exceptionally cheap borrowing to drive investment in infrastructure forward. Instead we’ve seen nothing but indecision and inaction from the Prime Minister.

“It was totally reckless of Theresa May and the Tory government to organise a referendum without an economic plan for if Britain voted for Brexit. We are already seeing the consequences of that recklessness, and the damage will continue unless countered by a strong industrial strategy backed up by a new investment drive. This is what Labour’s National Investment Bank and network of regional investment banks will deliver.”