Why Unions and Green Groups Want a Bigger National Wealth Fund

Unions, thinktanks, environmental groups and charities have urged UK ministers to give the National Wealth Fund more financial power to invest in Britain. The Guardian

The call comes from a coalition that includes the TUC, Greenpeace, WWF and the New Economics Foundation. The group wants the Fund rebuilt as what they call a world-leading national development bank, a state-backed bank for long-term projects, with freedom to raise its own money and invest over many years.

Andy Burnham became prime minister before the Labour party conference in September 2026. Chancellor John Healey is scheduled to deliver his budget on 28 October 2026.

The National Wealth Fund was launched in July 2024 by then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves to bring private money into large infrastructure projects. Parliament describes it as a Government-created investment fund intended to drive UK economic growth. UK Parliament Its stated mission is to invest in capital-intensive infrastructure, supply chains and businesses across the UK. Capital-intensive means needing a lot of cash up front.

Under its current rules, the Fund has £5.5bn to invest each year for the next five years. In October 2024, the UK set out a plan to deploy up to £27.8 billion ($36.2 billion) through the Fund. Reuters The operating target has been to attract about £3 of private money for every £1 of taxpayer money for ports, gigafactories for batteries, hydrogen and steel projects. It also has a £500m partnership with the Manchester Good Growth Fund. In May 2026, the Fund made its first defence investment, $34 million in a defence company. Reuters

The New Economics Foundation has made a detailed case for expansion. It gave evidence to the Treasury select committee and published a working paper titled Firing up the fund on how the Fund could do more. That report says the Fund should get good value for public money through fair sharing of profits and risks with private investors.

Earlier analysis by the Foundation said the Fund could raise £100bn by issuing its own bonds, borrowing by selling IOUs to investors, with up to £14 of private investment for every £1 of public money. New Economics Foundation In September 2026 the Foundation said the chancellor should scale up existing public bodies like the National Wealth Fund. New Economics Foundation

Supporters look to Europe for comparison. Germany's public investment bank KfW lent 62bn euros (£53.5bn) to households, businesses and local councils in 2025. In August 2024, the NIESR think tank said UK public investment should double to 5% of national income. Reuters

The broader context here is the choice facing ministers. A fund built to pull in private cash may not reach the scale its backers want without new funding and governance rules. That would mean letting the Fund sell its own bonds, giving it legal independence from day-to-day control, and judging it over decades rather than short spending periods. Such a shift toward a KfW-style bank would test Treasury control of future liabilities, the line between industrial policy and budget policy, and how risk and reward are split with private partners. The October budget will show how far Healey will go on those three points, and whether the Manchester partnership points to more local control in future.