Centerpieces of the plan announced today include £3 billion to build 165,000 new affordable homes, £28 billion for road improvements, £10 billion for school building repairs, and £370 million for flood defences. In introducing the plan, which allocates £50 billion for projects beginning in 2015-16, and the remainder to be spent between 2016-2020, Alexander noted that it includes the largest investment in road building in 40 years and the most substantial support for new homes in more than two decades.
"Treasury Minister Danny Alexander said the plans put 'long-term priorities before short-term political pressures'," notes the BBC. "But Labour said projects must start now and capital investment in the engine of the economy was actually falling."
"Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said spending was being directed towards 'polluting high-carbon infrastructure' such as roads and shale gas instead of prioritising jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency,"
"The British Chambers of Commerce welcomed the announcement but said it must quickly be translated into action. 'Infrastructure projects are too often promised and too rarely delivered in this country, and that cycle must be broken,' director of policy Adam Marshall said."
