Campaigners urge bigger, more independent National Wealth Fund to boost UK investment

# What the campaign is asking for A coalition of trade unions, environmental groups and thinktanks is calling on ministers to strengthen the UK's National Wealth Fund (NWF). Members include the TUC, Greenpeace, WWF and the New Economics Foundation. Their proposal: convert the NWF into a national development bank with the ability to raise its own long-term finance and invest at scale across the UK.

# Why they want change Campaigners say a larger, independent fund could deliver lower household energy costs, more high-quality jobs, and revitalised industrial regions by:

• supporting a network of regional banks to channel capital to small businesses.

These measures are presented as targeted ways to rebalance economic activity across the country and attract sustained private investment by sharing risk on large projects.

# How the NWF works now July 2024 to attract private sector money into major infrastructure projects. Its structure is designed to crowd in private capital: the stated aim is roughly £3 of private investment for every £1 of taxpayer funding. The fund is not a sovereign wealth fund but a vehicle to signal government commitment and reduce perceived project risk for private investors.

In its first year the Treasury says the NWF delivered £3.9bn of investments into projects including Sizewell C and a second gigafactory in Sunderland, generated £5.25bn in private finance and helped secure or create 11,500 jobs. The government says it remains committed to using the NWF to channel private capital into all parts of the country.

# The campaigners' comparison and demand Campaigners point to the scale of comparable public banks abroad to argue the UK's current remit is too small. They contrast the NWF's available investment—about £5.5bn a year for the next five years—with Germany's public investment bank KfW, which lent €62bn (£53.5bn) in 2025 alone to households, businesses and municipalities.

Their central demand is for government to give the NWF the independence to raise its own finance and to invest over the long term while remaining consistent with existing UK fiscal rules. They argue this would combine fiscal credibility with a stronger pipeline of public investment.

# Political timing The call comes ahead of Labour's first conference under Prime Minister Andy Burnham and with Chancellor John Healey preparing his first budget, scheduled for 28 October. Burnham has indicated a willingness to examine flexibility within fiscal rules to allow more borrowing for infrastructure investment.

# Government response A Treasury spokesperson highlighted the NWF's early results and reiterated a commitment to its long-term mission of crowding in private capital and driving economic growth across the country.

# Practical implications to watch If ministers accept the proposals, changes likely to follow include new borrowing powers or funding lines for the NWF, greater operational independence to deploy capital over longer horizons, and targeted programmes for retrofit, regional banks and industrial investment. Watch the chancellor's October budget for any policy or funding announcements tied to these proposals.