Rachel Reeves LIVE: Chancellor to make major speech ahead of spending review

Rachel Reeves is set to tear up Treasury rules as she announces billions of pounds of investment in public transport in the North and Midlands.

The £15.6 billion package for mayoral authorities is expected to include funding to extend the metros in Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, along with a renewed tram network in South Yorkshire and a new mass transit systems in West Yorkshire.

Announcing the investment in a speech in Manchester on Wednesday, the Chancellor will argue that Britain "cannot rely on a handful of places forging ahead of the rest of the country" and champion a "new economic model - driven by investment in all parts of the country".

She is also expected to confirm that next week's spending review will include changes to the rules in the Treasury's Green Book that determine whether projects receive funding.

Green Book rules have been criticised in some quarters for favouring investment in London and the South East.

Ms Reeves is expected to argue that changing the rules will ensure the Government "gives every region a fair hearing when it comes to investments".

But it will also mean more money for areas of the North and Midlands, including the so-called "Red Wall", where Labour MPs face an electoral challenge from Reform UK.