Universal Bedford: Theme park plans are a key test for Labour

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As Keir Starmer licks his wounds from Labour’s disappointing local election results, there are fears on the left that his reaction will be a policy shift to the right.

So what? There is an alternative – getting things done. Exhibit 1: Universal Studios’ plans for Europe’s biggest theme park in Bedford, featuring roller coasters, a vast lagoon, a 500-room hotel and several restaurants.

Whereas the Conservatives promised to pour investment into the Brexit-voting Red Wall of northern England, which turned blue in 2019, Labour is pouncing on Middle England. The initiative even has a codename: Project Nectarine.

Unleash. Labour says it will transform this belt of central England, stretching from Cambridge to Oxford, into “an engine of prosperity” that could add £78 billion to the economy by 2035. It has already announced a raft of initiatives, including:

• construction of a new terminal at Luton Airport to increase its capacity by 14 million passengers a year;
• building new roads such as a 10-mile stretch of brand new dual carriageway on the A428 between Milton Keynes and Cambridge;
• building new railway stations in Cambridge and Wixams, and opening the first part of a new “East-West” rail link between Oxford and Cambridge; and
• building more scientific lab space and housing.

Comparing notes. These aren’t all Labour projects. Most were discussed or even approved by previous governments. By getting them past the planning stage, Starmer hopes to earn a reputation as a prime minister who accomplishes things. After Labour’s battering last week, this may be the only way to rescue his party’s flagging popularity.

Outside the so-called Oxford-Cambridge Arc, the government has:

• indicated support for new runways at Gatwick and Heathrow airports;
• approved the Lower Thames Crossing;
• promised to slash planning restrictions; and
• eyed up locations for new towns.

‘Daan saaf’. These projects have something in common: they are all in the south of England, the richest part of the country. None address the chronic lack of investment in England’s post-industrial north. Instead, Starmer is going for growth by boosting the belt of prosperity that already surrounds London.

Enter Universal. A Universal Studios theme park would help these plans by bringing billions in investment, creating thousands of jobs and luring millions of high-spending visitors to Bedford. Normally theme park developers pick a site and then persuade the government to make it suitable. This has been the other way around: planners lured Comcast, Universal’s parent company, by preparing the ground, including confirming the expansion of Luton Airport.

‘Coaster clear. Days later, Starmer welcomed Comcast’s Michael Cavanagh to Downing Street. The pair shook hands in front of a gleaming mock-up image of the proposed park, which could be built on a former brickworks. The MP for Bedford called it a “dream come true”.

Bumpy ride. It may not happen, if previous plans are anything to go by.

• The London Resort was a Paramount-fronted operation that would have been built in north Kent, but it got trapped in planning purgatory for nearly a decade and eventually ran into financial difficulty.
• Disney initially planned to open a European theme park in England, before settling on Paris instead.
• Before its foray into Bedford, Universal Studios planned to build a vast site in Essex in the 1980s. It later pulled out, citing the government’s lack of financial support.

With its promise to build, build, build, Labour promises things will be different this time, and so far it’s working.

And yet… as Universal looks to expand, other theme park megacorporations are scaling back. Last week Six Flags, North America’s biggest theme park operator, announced it will close two of its sites after the 2025 season.

Photo credit: Patrick Connolly/Tribune News Service via Getty Images