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Conservatives slammed over rail funding after reports Wales is set to miss out on £1 billion

18 Mar 2023 3 minute read
A Nova 1 train at London’s Kings Cross Station. Photo Bananaman28 CC BY-SA 4.0

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have hit out at the UK Government after reports that Wales is to miss out on yet another large pot of rail funding.

The criticism follows claims that Northern Powerhouse Rail, unofficially named HS3, will be classified by the Conservative UK Government as an England and Wales project.

The project will connect cities in the north of England, including Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, York, Sheffield and Leeds with high-speed and improved rail, but as with the HS2 project, not a single meter of the track will be in Wales.

The scheme is expected to cost £17.2 billion.

Under the Barnett Formula under which Welsh Government funding is calculated, Wales is meant to receive a proportional share of spending in England.

In this case, if Northern Powerhouse Rail was classified as an England-only project, Wales would receive around £1 billion in funding to spend on public transport.

The HS2 designation is estimated to have cost Wales £5 billion in lost funding that could have been spent on public transport.

Scotland has been guaranteed consequential funding from HS2 that is estimated to be worth up to £10 billion.

‘Lack of backbone’

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said: “The latest development goes to show to Conservatives couldn’t care less about Wales and that Welsh Conservative MPs are utterly failing to do their job and stand up for their constituents.

“Welsh Conservative MPs should hang their heads in shame, this project very clearly is not ‘England and Wales’ and their lack of backbone is robbing Wales of vital investment that would not only better services for the public, but help to attract more businesses to Wales.

“Any Welsh person, whether they are in North, Mid or South Wales, will be able to tell you the abysmal state Welsh railways are.

“To deprive Wales of the funding needed to address these problems is to deprive Wales and its people of opportunity and potential for further development.

“This sadly fits a long record for the Conservative Party, given they also cancelled the electrification of the South Wales rail lines, cancelled Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon and deprived Wales of £1 billion in funding it would have received had we stayed in the EU.

“It seems if the Conservatives had a message for the Welsh electorate it would be – ‘you don’t matter to us’.”


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Y Cymro
Y Cymro
1 year ago

Again we have the English Conservative party cynically put this build as England & Wales infrastructure, meaning no consequential to our Senedd Cymru robbing the Welsh Government of £1 billion, add the billions lost with HS2, could have done so much good. Why do we as a nation sit on our hands and do nothing? In any other country people would take to the streets to protest. Wake up Wales. Get a bloody backbone!

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
1 year ago
Reply to  Y Cymro

The only time the England cricket team is mentioned as the ‘England and Wales’ cricket team is when it is in trouble and a reprimand is due…just saying…

Ernie The Smallholder
Ernie The Smallholder
1 year ago
Reply to  Y Cymro

The only course of action for the Welsh parliament is to make a law to ban all taxation collected in Wales from leaving Wales.

For the Welsh government and people to refuse to pay the UK treasure and for the government to set up its own tax collect department and policy.

Declare independence now before they take all our wealth.

Llyn
Llyn
1 year ago

Instead of his childish name calling and unhealthy social media obsession with culture war issues Andrew RT Davies should concentrate on doing his day job and persuade his colleagues in his own party to give Wales the money he himself says we are owed.

Ernie The Smallholder
Ernie The Smallholder
1 year ago
Reply to  Llyn

The ‘Welsh’ Conservatives are in the Senedd only to represent UK interests ONTO the Welsh people. They have never represented Wales, nor have they ever represented the People of Wales.

We should not allow them anywhere near our Welsh Senedd.
They are not a Welsh party.

If Wales wants a centre-right party then they should set one up and not as an agent outside our country.
The same applies to socialist and social democrat parties.

Frank
Frank
1 year ago

As long as the Welsh and their representatives present themselves as a pushover others will just walk all over us. We need AMs with balls, big balls!! People are allowed to ridicule us without any objection, question or protest something other nations would not tolerate. Being mild and meek to others does not work…. FIGHT BACK ffs!!!

Dai Rob
Dai Rob
1 year ago

SAME OLD STORY FOR A THOUSAND YEARS.

George Thomas
George Thomas
1 year ago

HS2 = £5 billion.
HS3 = £? billion.

If this goes ahead as it’s expected to, Westminster will have cooked the books to deny Wales an estimate of 5+ billion pounds.

How? Why?

Last edited 1 year ago by George Thomas
Frank
Frank
1 year ago
Reply to  George Thomas

HS3 = £17.5bn.

Dewi
Dewi
1 year ago

The majority of Welsh MP’s in the Palace of Westminster are utterly useless in this regard they appear to loose their gwreiddiau completely.

Steve A Duggan
Steve A Duggan
1 year ago

Ho for goodness sake, we are continually being shafted left right and centre. Enough is enough, as a nation we can no longer afford it, if we ever could. We need to wake up and gain independence asap.

Paul
Paul
1 year ago

Same story different century. No government in Westminster has ever cared about Cymru and no government in Westminster will ever care about Cymru and the vast majority of voters in Cymru will every care or worry about this actual fact and they will continue to vote for Westminster politicians
you reap what you sew !! Cymru will always be treated this way because Westminster is 100% aware that the people of Cymru are 100% apathetic . End of story a sad true reality

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