A flagship £10billion investment hailed by Sir Keir Starmer as part of “a record-breaking show of confidence” will deliver just a tenth of the jobs it promised.
Ministers announced in October that US asset-management firm Blackstone was to build a giant AI data centre in Northumberland “creating 4,000 jobs, including 1,200 roles dedicated to the construction of the site”.
However a planning application submitted to Northumberland County Council reports that “direct employment” at the site “is anticipated to be in the region of 400 FTE (full time equivalent).”
It states that more jobs will be created through “indirect and induced employment”, for example because employees will boost the local economy by spending their wages or because the existence of the data centre might attract other tech firms to the area.
The application, from Blackstone subsidiary QTS, confirms that “peak monthly construction employment could be in the region of 1,200 jobs” but only while the data centre is being built.
The project was one of the biggest announcements to come out of a high-profile investment summit in October, which Labour said had brought in investment of £63billion in total.
It was held in London’s Guildhall and attended by global business leaders alongside the Prime Minister and other Cabinet ministers. The event concluded with an evening reception at St Paul’s Cathedral hosted by King Charles, with entertainment from Sir Elton John.
Hailing the summit as a success in a later speech, Sir Keir said; “£63billion worth of investment secured from business two weeks ago – a record-breaking show of confidence in our plan for growth.
“That’s investment that will create tens of thousands of jobs. Good jobs – in every corner of
the country.”
Ian Lavery, MP for Blyth Valley in Northumberland and a former Labour chair, said: “I welcome this huge investment into my constituency and every single job created is much needed and important. However it’s important that local people and the local area benefit from this in terms of jobs and community advantages.
“I’ll continue to work closely with Blackstone on this huge AI project.”
Sir Keir and the Chancellor Rachel Reeves last month met BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink at 10 Downing Street, where they discussed ideas to grow the economy.
In a gushing comment on social media afterwards, Sir Keir said: “I’m determined to deliver growth, create wealth and put more money in people’s pockets. This can only be achieved by working in partnership with leading businesses, like BlackRock, to capitalise on the UK’s position as a world leading hub for investment.”
