What will a new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government do for construction jobs in the UK? The dust has settled after the general election and the negotiations between the two parties so the hard work begins on stabilising the economy.

We do know that there will be cuts in public spending and one of the early casualties is the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport. This will no longer go ahead and any proposed expansions to Stanstead and Gatwick airports will be refused.

On the face of it the refusal to expand these airports will be bad news for construction jobs, and one could imagine that other large scale projects may also be postponed or cancelled. Given the recent problems caused by the Icelandic volcano, perhaps it is unnecessary to build an extra runway at Heathrow in the next few years anyway.

However, there are other projects given the green light under the previous government that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have stated they remain committed to. For example the new government has stated they will press ahead with the establishment of a high-speed rail network.

The rail network has seen quite substantial funding with projects to improve stations as well as faster links between British cities. The need for good transportation to increase productivity in UK industry is one of the bright spots for the construction industry.

In spite of necessary cuts in spending it seems there will be a commitment to building projects, which will hopefully create many new construction jobs. With the private sector starting to pick up, hopefully better times are ahead for the construction industry.