What if you could eavesdrop on the juiciest UKREiiF deals in the making? Discover business opportunities before they’re in the public domain? Learn who might be winning work before it’s officially announced? I am The Secret Delegate, the shadow with go anywhere access. And I’ll be bringing you those critical high-level conversations unshackled, so you can stay ahead of the competition.
Shadowing Mike Reader
Been shadowing Mike Reader, MP for Northampton South. Turns out his side-gig as government construction sector champion is a real passion, not least since the infrastructure game’s been a sucker’s bet for too long, and Reader’s calling out the whole rigged system.
From water engineering projects to public sector procurement frameworks, Reader’s worked in the sector’s gritty underbelly. Twenty years in the trenches means he knows one thing: the field’s been fixed against builders, investors, and everyday citizens.
Britain’s Infrastructure Crisis
The UK’s been barrel-scraping in infrastructure investment – bottom 10% of OECD countries. Brexit, energy crises, global chaos – the industry’s been soaking punches like a heavyweight against the ropes. But Reader’s not here to cry about it. He’s here to rebuild.
The Plan: Stability, Strategy, Partnership
As chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure, he’s betting on the government’s battle plan. Three hard rules: Stability. Strategic vision. Partnership.
Stability means a 10-year infrastructure strategy that doesn’t change with political winds. Five-year funding windows. No more annual budget roulette. Investors want certainty, and Reader believes in delivering it like a precision-engineered blueprint.
Strategic vision means 150 major projects getting approval during this parliament. Not bureaucratic wish-list garbage—real infrastructure. Airports. Reservoirs. Energy systems. A plan showing exactly where and how we’re transforming the national landscape.
Partnership means breaking the old rules. Reforming how projects get evaluated. Focusing on community benefits, not just spreadsheet numbers. Only 3% of people are primarily concerned with keeping costs low, just 17% think the planning system works in their favour and almost two thirds believe infrastructure projects are poorly communicated—those are war numbers, and Reader’s declaring battle.
Time to Rebuild
Communication is his secret weapon. Drag MPs onto construction sites. Show them apprentices building the future. Make every politician understand this isn’t just concrete and steel – it’s national renewal.
The mission: Connect communities. Drive economic growth. Accelerate the transition to net zero. No more political theatre, no more excuses.
This isn’t infrastructure policy. This is a manifesto for a country ready to rebuild itself, brick by hard-graft brick.
Reader’s not asking permission. He’s telling you how it’s going to be.
Further Information
Mike Reader’s a panellist at UKREiiF for the topic: Prosperity through infrastructure investment: Futureproofing a 10 year strategy.
The politics of infrastructure projects – why do they take so long?
Setting the pipeline to get Britain moving – what does the UK’s new infrastructure company need to deliver?
