A year ago, the UK’s 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy arrived with something the ICE had been calling for for years: a sense of direction. Andy Burnham’s return to the centre of national political discussion is a timely reminder that today’s political certainty can become tomorrow’s uncertainty. But it reinforces a broader point: when funding pressures emerge, a clear long-term strategy becomes even more important. The UK’s infrastructure story has too often sounded like a familiar Manchester refrain: stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before. Like any successful long-term plan, it should evolve through experience and evidence.