Key Takeaways
- • Unions, think tanks, environmental groups and charities including the TUC, Greenpeace, WWF and the New Economics Foundation are urging ministers to expand the financial firepower of the UK's National Wealth Fund (NWF).
- • The coalition wants the NWF converted into a "world-leading national development bank" and says this is consistent with the government's existing fiscal rules.
- • The NWF currently has £5.5bn available to invest each year for the next five years, roughly one-tenth of the €62bn (£53.5bn) lent annually by Germany's KfW in 2025, according to the statement.
- • The Treasury reports the NWF delivered £3.9bn of investments in its first year and generated £5.25bn in private finance, with 11,500 jobs secured or created.
- • The call precedes Labour's first conference since Andy Burnham became prime minister and John Healey's first budget as chancellor, scheduled for 28 October.
Summary
A coalition of unions, think tanks, environmental groups and charities has called on UK ministers to boost the financial firepower of the National Wealth Fund so it can invest more in Britain and rebalance the economy. According to a statement from organisations including the TUC, Greenpeace, WWF and the New Economics Foundation, scaling up the NWF could lower energy bills, revitalise the country's industrial heartlands and create more high-quality jobs.
The statement urges the government to overhaul the NWF into a "world-leading national development bank capable of delivering the investment Britain needs," and argues this can be done within the government's existing fiscal rules. It would require giving the NWF independence to raise its own finances and invest over the long term, a model used by public banks elsewhere. The NWF, launched in July 2024 by then chancellor Rachel Reeves, was designed to attract roughly £3 of private money for every £1 of taxpayer cash in projects such as ports, gigafactories, and hydrogen and steel schemes. It is not a sovereign wealth fund in the Norwegian or Saudi sense; rather, it is intended to share financial risk on large infrastructure projects and give investors confidence to invest in the UK.
The group credits the NWF with steering private investment into clean energy, modern infrastructure and regional growth, citing its £500m partnership with the Manchester Good Growth Fund. It proposes several expanded roles for a larger NWF: accelerating home and building retrofits, taking part-ownership stakes in critical infrastructure to give the public a bigger stake, launching a targeted programme for green industries in communities hit hardest by deindustrialisation, and supporting regional banks that fund small businesses.
A Treasury spokesperson said the NWF had delivered £3.9bn of investments in its first year, including projects such as Sizewell C, a second gigafactory in Sunderland and flood defences in Wales, and had generated an additional £5.25bn in private finance while securing or creating 11,500 jobs. The spokesperson said the government "remains committed to the NWF's long-term mission to crowd in private capital and drive economic growth into every postcode in the country."
The proposal arrives as Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has said he would examine "any flexibility" in the fiscal rules to borrow more for infrastructure, and Chancellor John Healey prepare the first budget, scheduled for 28 October.
The statement urges the government to overhaul the NWF into a "world-leading national development bank capable of delivering the investment Britain needs," and argues this can be done within the government's existing fiscal rules. It would require giving the NWF independence to raise its own finances and invest over the long term, a model used by public banks elsewhere. The NWF, launched in July 2024 by then chancellor Rachel Reeves, was designed to attract roughly £3 of private money for every £1 of taxpayer cash in projects such as ports, gigafactories, and hydrogen and steel schemes. It is not a sovereign wealth fund in the Norwegian or Saudi sense; rather, it is intended to share financial risk on large infrastructure projects and give investors confidence to invest in the UK.
The group credits the NWF with steering private investment into clean energy, modern infrastructure and regional growth, citing its £500m partnership with the Manchester Good Growth Fund. It proposes several expanded roles for a larger NWF: accelerating home and building retrofits, taking part-ownership stakes in critical infrastructure to give the public a bigger stake, launching a targeted programme for green industries in communities hit hardest by deindustrialisation, and supporting regional banks that fund small businesses.
A Treasury spokesperson said the NWF had delivered £3.9bn of investments in its first year, including projects such as Sizewell C, a second gigafactory in Sunderland and flood defences in Wales, and had generated an additional £5.25bn in private finance while securing or creating 11,500 jobs. The spokesperson said the government "remains committed to the NWF's long-term mission to crowd in private capital and drive economic growth into every postcode in the country."
The proposal arrives as Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has said he would examine "any flexibility" in the fiscal rules to borrow more for infrastructure, and Chancellor John Healey prepare the first budget, scheduled for 28 October.
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