Editor’s message and January/February 2020 magazine download

The clear result of the general election has returned a government that has made big commitments on infrastructure spending says Andy Walker in his latest editor's comment.

Andy Walker
06 January 2020

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After months and months of political and economic uncertainty, a general election in the UK has delivered a Conservative government with a thumping majority. The new government has a mandate for not only “getting Brexit done” (which was repeated once or twice during the election campaign you may have noticed) but also for delivering on its many infrastructure promises.

As Scape Group CEO Mark Robinson says on page 6-7, for the first time in a decade, the ruling government party in the UK has a clear mandate to deliver. As the possibility of another referendum is now out of the question, the construction industry will be looking for clarity on the terms on which the UK will be exiting the European Union on 31 January 2020 and we have to hope we get that clarity very quickly.

Boris Johnson made all kinds of infrastructure promises during the election campaign and it is incumbent on construction leaders to hold the PM to account to ensure that his government delivers them and in a way that starts to rebalance the economy after years of uneven development in favour of the south at the north’s expense. Notwithstanding his large parliamentary majority, Johnson will need a fair wind and favour to deliver on his pledges. An eager industry awaits.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that this first Infrastructure Intelligence of 2020 is a milestone moment, as it’s issue number 40 of our magazine. We are delighted to have reached this landmark and we look forward to many more issues in the months and years ahead.

Andy Walker is the editor of Infrastructure Intelligence.

Click here to download the January/February 2020 edition of Infrastructure Intelligence.