Minister tears into Starmer for axing East Midlands road improvements to fund defence - as PM told decision is 'completely unacceptable'

By SOPHIE CHURCH - POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 23:11, 30 June 2026 | Updated: 23:25, 30 June 2026 Keir Starmer was on Tuesday facing fury from his own Government for cutting investment into road projects to pay for defence. In a scathing post online, Hamish Falconer said he was 'disappointed' by Sir Keir's decision to mothball two major road upgrades in his constituency to boost defence spending. And the Foreign Office minister said he would be 'seeking an urgent meeting' with the incoming Labour leader to address his concerns in an embarrassment for the ousted PM. This came as Sir Keir finally announced details on Tuesday of the long-awaited defence investment plan (Dip) – which sets out how Britain will rearm. Acknowledging there were 'no easy answers' in boosting defence spending, the Prime Minister revealed that 'some capital projects, for example on roads and energy, which are important but not immediately vital, will no longer go ahead as planned.' Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Department for Transport 'will provide up to £700 million of savings from roads funding' as part of its contribution to the Dip in a written statement to the Commons. And a Treasury document later detailed plans for the 'potential cancellation of the A38 Derby Junctions and A46 Newark Bypass schemes, both of which are yet to enter contract and not as far along as other road schemes'. 'There will be stakeholder consultations before any final decision is taken,' it added. In a scathing post online, Hamish Falconer (pictured in 2024) said he was 'disappointed' by Sir Keir's decision to mothball two major road upgrades in his constituency to boost defence spending Keir Starmer was on Tuesday facing fury from his own Government for cutting investment into road projects to pay for defence Labour's East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward on Tuesday joined in condemnation of Sir Keir's choice to pull investment into the roads – saying it was 'completely unacceptable' But Mr Falconer on Tuesday wrote on X: 'I am disappointed by the uncertainty today about the A46 Newark Bypass widening scheme. 'I support further funding for the Dip, but the A46 upgrade programme is well advanced, long awaited, excellent value for money and of strategic importance to both Lincoln and the region.' Mr Falconer said he would seek an 'urgent meeting' with the new prime minister, chancellor and transport secretary 'to discuss this decision and explore whether there is a credible route forward for this vital project'. And Labour's East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward on Tuesday joined in condemnation of Sir Keir's choice to pull investment into the roads – saying it was 'completely unacceptable'. 'I was informed of this decision as the Prime Minister was delivering his speech on the Defence Investment Plan,' she said. 'If Mayors and their regions are to be seen as respected partners of government, we need to be treated like grown-ups and involved in trade-offs which affect our regions.' Ms Ward added: 'What I cannot understand is why the only region being asked to lose £900 million of investment into its roads is the East Midlands — that is not equitable and fails to recognise the decades of underinvestment that have preceded today's decision.' Labour's Mid Derbyshire MP Jonathan Davies also said some locals would see the cancellation of the A38 upgrade – included in the Government's £27 billion road investment strategy for England earlier this year – as a 'brake on economic growth'. All Government departments were asked to contribute one per cent of their capital budgets from this year towards the Dip, it emerged on Tuesday. And the DfT and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Desnz) were ordered to cough up more money given their added budgets – with Desnz having to find an additional £2 billion of savings. The Treasury on Tuesday refused to provide more detail on which projects other than the two roads would be cut, but Ms Reeves claimed that 'more detailed plans will be shared by Autumn'. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.