The Times tears up its credibility

The Times has the latest spin story about government capital spending plans with a story whose feeble headline, Rachel Reeves to spend big in redwall — what could it mean?, belies a preposterously overblown opening line.

Rachel Reeves is preparing to tear up Treasury spending rules and announce a multibillion-pound investment package in the north and Midlands to combat the threat of Reform.

Is she really preparing to "tear up" Treasury spending rules? Obviously not:

Across the country Reeves is likely to have up to £100 billion of capital investment to announce, having changed the fiscal rules in her budget last year.

So she already has more scope for capital spending, having changed the fiscal rules in her budget last year to allow more borrowing.

So what is new? You have to go a long way down the piece to find the substance to the story:

Reeves ordered a review of the Treasury’s Green Book, which sets out the rules that determine which capital projects qualify for approval, in January.

The review is expected to conclude that the government should give greater priority to public sector investment in areas of lower economic productivity.

The Times has been told that it will be published on the same day as the comprehensive spending review. A ten-year infrastructure plan will be published a week later by Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury.

So, more rules being tweaked, rather than torn up.

And how new is all this? In January Civil Service World reported that:

Reeves outlined the aims of the government's Green Book review, which is set to report back at the conclusion of this year's Spending Review. The SR is due to conclude on June 11.

She said: “As the metro mayor of Liverpool, Steve Rotherham, has called for, we will review the Green Book and how it is being used to provide objective, transparent advice on public investment across the country, including outside London, and the South East. This means that investment in all regions is given a fair hearing by the Treasury that I lead.” 

But here’s a “source” in the Times to provide the spin, not by giving new information but by reminding us of what Reeves said previously:

A government source said that Reeves had been clear that she wanted to review the Green Book to provide “objective, transparent advice on public investment across the country, including outside London and the southeast”. This would mean that “investment in all regions” was given a “fair hearing by the Treasury”.