Budget: Osborne "to boost output through infrastructure" as Labour says transport is route to growth

The Chancellor is reportedly set to use his Wednesday Budget to announce measures on infrastructure to boost Britain's poor productivity as shadow Chancellor Chris Leslie says "better roads, railway lines and airports" would "help businesses to grow".

Newspapers over the weekend including The Observer predicted that the first Conservative Budget in 19 years would announce some fruits of Treasury work on "ways of boosting output, including through infrastructure projects, and what George Osborne calls his 'Northern Powerhouse' scheme". Leslie used the Andrew Marr Show and The Mirror to urge a focus on increasing productivity through better transport links, given blobal uncertainty - echoing business calls, as Transportxtra has reported.

But whilst The Daily Mail hailed a "new effort to improve the British economy's productivity," others were more sceptical over the Budget's probable contents on investment. The FT's political editor asked [£] "how can he claim to be boosting Britain's poor productivity record - the key to higher wages - while budgets intended to boost the supply side continue to be squeezed? The postponement of key rail improvements in Mr Osborne's 'Northern Powerhouse' illustrated the point.

The SNP, meanwhile, issued a release yesterday that put it more simply: "This will be a Budget less about boosting productivity and growth and more a sermon from an austerity cult."