Could Spending Review turn new page for North and voters?

Labour will be hoping the Spending Review generates positive headlines and change

As Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver her Spending Review later, BBC Yorkshire's Political Editor James Vincent examines what impact her big decisions could have on our region.

Trams, nuclear and medical science. We've had a lot of government visits up here in the last week or so – and a lot of ministers, smiling, telling us they are spending money up here to improve our lives.

I think most people would be forgiven for casting a slightly cynical glance their way.

We've had ministers and prime ministers before in the same places promising the same things.

Labour insist that this time is different.

They need to be right, not just to balance up a North-South divide, but also to convince people here that Labour is still their party.

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to end the North-South divide and help places like Dewsbury

A lot of the promises made and cheques written don't actually relate to this week's Comprehensive Spending Review, but instead the fundamental changes which are going to be made to it – and might make it live up to its adjective-led title.

When I first interviewed Sir Keir Starmer at Downing Street he told me that Labour would get rid of the North-South divide – a very bold claim.

Cutting winter fuel payments was a sign to many that the party was going in the wrong direction.

Labour is hoping that this week is a bit of a reset.

They've changed their minds on winter fuel and they are hoping, in turn, that changes some voters' minds.

Reform's success in Doncaster has given them a lot to think about.

Reform's Alexander Jones and his party ended up with a majority on Doncaster Council in May

You're going to hear a lot about the Green Book later on.

The Spending Review is all about the nuts and bolts of what the government wants to spend money on for the next three years.

The Green Book is the name for the government's list of assessments on whether a new project is going to be worth building.

It basically looks at whether it will be good value by predicting how much money it will bring in versus how much it will cost.

The problem, for many, with the current version of the book is that it looks more favourably on projects in the south than in the north.

More people and more businesses down there means a quicker, bigger return on investment.

But if you want to balance up the north and south a different sort of return is needed.

The chancellor is hoping her rewrite of the book means more projects in the north get past the book and get built.