Chancellor to announce plans to improve infrastructure in region to put it at forefront of science and tech advances

Rachel Reeves is unveiling plans to create “Europe’s Silicon Valley” between Oxford and Cambridge as she stakes the government’s success on kickstarting economic growth and putting more pounds in people’s pockets.

The chancellor will announce a blueprint to improve infrastructure across the region that will add up to £78bn to the UK economy within a decade, according to industry experts, and put it at the forefront of science and technological advances.