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Plaid calls for unfair designation of major rail projects to be addressed ahead of spending review

04 Jun 2025 4 minute read
Ben Lake MP. Photo UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

Emily Price

As the UK Government prepares its spending review, calls are being made for the “inconsistent and unfair designation of major rail projects” to be addressed.

It comes after it was revealed that a rail link between Oxford and Cambridge worth £6.6bn would be designated as an “England and Wales” scheme.

This is despite the project not extending into Wales.

The East West Rail link has been categorised this way because it falls within the rail network enhancements pipeline funding envelope.

This funding stream also paid for the redevelopment of Cardiff Central Station, improved level crossings in north Wales and upgrades to south Wales relief lines.

Impact

Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats say the designation of the Oxford line and other major rail projects is impacting the allocation of transport infrastructure funding for Wales under the barnett formula.

The Treasury is also facing pressure over its controversial handling of HS2 funding.

Under the previous Conservative government the £100 billion high-speed rail link was classified as an “England and Wales” scheme despite none of the track crossing the Welsh border.

Plaid Cymru Treasury spokesperson, Ben Lake has demanded that the UK Government correct the misclassification of HS2 and the East West Project between Oxford and Cambridge.

The UK Government is expected to announce new funding for Welsh railways in its spending review next week.

Plaid Cymru has reminded Labour that they once agreed with them that over £4 billion was owed to the Welsh Government in HS2 rail consequentials through the barnett formula.

The Welsh Government’s most recent calculation of cash owed to Wales for HS2 currently stands at £431m.

Mr Lake says the Treasury’s “accounting fiction” has blocked Wales from receiving  funding that would otherwise have flowed to the Welsh Government as is the case for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Plaid Cymru is therefore calling for:

    • The reclassification of HS2 and the East West Project (Oxford-Cambridge) as England-only infrastructure projects, reflecting the widely recognised injustice towards Wales;
    • A minimum of £4 billion in barnett consequentials to be paid to the Welsh Government, representing the funding Wales should have received had HS2 and the East West Project (Oxford-Cambridge) been correctly classified
    • A recognition that transport should be a matter for the Welsh Government, ensuring decisions are made in Wales and reflect Welsh priorities, not a continuation of a top-down approach from Westminster.

Mr Lake said: “Wales’ infrastructure is in severe need of investment, and its rail infrastructure could benefit significantly from enhancement funding. It is little under a year since the Welsh and UK Governments acknowledged that rail infrastructure in Wales has suffered historic underinvestment, and so it is difficult to accept the designation of both HS2 and the East West Rail Project between Oxford and Cambridge as ‘England and Wales’ initiatives.

“Neither project has been designed to deliver benefits to communities in Wales. Their designation as ‘England and Wales’ projects is fundamentally unfair, as it will deprive Wales of consequential funding that could be used to invest in its transport infrastructure.

“The UK Government has previously designated large rail projects in England, such as Cross Rail in London, as projects benefitting England alone, and if it were to reclassify HS2 and the Oxford to Cambridge projects in the same way, Wales could stand to gain billions in consequential funding.

“Any increase in capital investment in Welsh infrastructure would be welcome, but it is equally important that the inconsistent and unfair designation of major rail projects is addressed so that Wales does not continue to lose out. The Comprehensive Spending Review offers the UK Government an opportunity to put this right.”


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Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
14 days ago

Where is the rage…supine as always

Paul
Paul
13 days ago
Reply to  Mab Meirion

Sometimes the persistent calm voice can be more irritating than a raging one. Just as long as he keeps it going.

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
13 days ago
Reply to  Paul

Too late Paul, 26 years of irritating stage whispers and nest feathering…

The ‘class’ system in Cymru is a chain around our necks and the worshiping of it will keep us forever down unless as an individual you sign up to it…

Iago
Iago
13 days ago
Reply to  Mab Meirion

If only more people spammed the comments section with non sequiturs, eh?

Felicity
Felicity
14 days ago

Ben Lake is right to raise this absurd state of affairs again, the new Oxford/Cambridge project merely underlines the situation. It is not only demonstrably unfair, but politically deaf for Westminster to continue to ignore. As a capital investment there can be no excuses.

TheOtherJones
TheOtherJones
13 days ago

I wonder how my Labour MP, who was happy to criticise the Tories over classifying HS2 as “Englandandwales,” can go along with the farcical scenario that Wales should part fund railway projects in Cambridgeshire.

It’s nuts.

Peter J
Peter J
13 days ago
Reply to  TheOtherJones

That’s the most insane part of this and highlights how out-of-their-depth many MPs are. It’s obvious that the Starmer gvmt wasn’t to open up the further devolution issue in this parliament, so it should have also been obvious that the ‘England and wales project issue’ would happen again. It seems our MPs don’t have their wits about them. To me one of the main questions we should be asking today is why did the Labour (under Andrew Davies) and Plaid (under Ieuan) decide against taking the offer about devolving railway infrastructure before HS2, when it was supposedly offered? Why did… Read more »

Rob
Rob
13 days ago
Reply to  Peter J

Wasn’t that in 2006? Plaid went into coalition with Labour the year after. The current devolution settlement reserves rail planning but not railways within Wales (as per section 184(c) of Schedule 7a GoW Act 2006). In other words any rail project that lies entirely within Wales is a devolved matter. Therefore by this logic any rail project that lies entirely within England is an England-only matter. The problem here isn’t so much the current devolution settlement (although I support further devolution), but the dubious way which the UK Government is designating England-only projects as ‘England and Wales’.

Peter J
Peter J
13 days ago
Reply to  Rob

I understand full devolved railway was offered twice – once when Andrew Davies was Minster economy/transport and once when Ieuan Wyn Jones was Minster economy/transport. Both turned it down. As you say, it’s a complex area, though massively over-simplified by those who want to make a point

Anianegwr
Anianegwr
13 days ago
Reply to  Peter J

Welsh Labour and Conservative MP’s walked into the yes lobby when the vote was held to pass the HS2 bill. That was with the E&W designation. They are all culpable.

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
13 days ago
Reply to  TheOtherJones

Those self-serving Wales Labour MP hypocrites have no spine. They don’t represent Wales but deliberately act against. #HS2 #OxfordCambridgeLine #Devolution #WelshNot #WalesNot

Dr John Ball
Dr John Ball
13 days ago

Whatever the niceties of ‘England and Wales’ projects, the amount of money being spent – or planned to be spent – on transport schemes in England is now reaching the level of obscene. Today, a £15billion scheme was announced for improving transport links in the English Midlands, last week the cost of the new Thames road tunnel was confirmed as £10billion. Did anyone notice the announcement made very quietly last week that Heathrow’s third runway is to go ahead at a cost, including associated transport links, as costing between – wait for it – £43billion and £64billion. Meanwhile, I’m hoping… Read more »

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
13 days ago
Reply to  Dr John Ball

Clark is going to war for ’21st Century Schizoid Man’ three verses…

best track on the Album, October 1969 Eldon Sq Dol…

Beware of the AI version of the lyrics…

Jimi’s ‘Star Spangled Banner’ is perfect for Twmp’s MAGA

Last edited 13 days ago by Mab Meirion
Peter J
Peter J
13 days ago
Reply to  Dr John Ball

Whilst I’m not defending the gvmt, they should be more transparent and defend their actions. In any case, the same pot of funding is also being used to support north Wales metro announced 2 weeks ago (2.1 bn apparently!) and a large chunks of the South Wales metro enhancements. The announcements weren’t synced for obvious reasons.
Let’s see if Heathrow ever happens, there is no plan for financing. As far as I know both of those projects, gvmt is hoping private investment comes along. My guess is they’ll be financed in a similar way to the mersey gateway bridge.

Last edited 13 days ago by Peter J
Dewi
Dewi
13 days ago

Colonies only receive breadcrumbs from the rich man’s table!

Badger
Badger
13 days ago

There could be a legal requirement for central government to spend two thirds of all capital expenditure in areas with lower than average GDP per capita. They could call it the Levelling Up Law.

Dai Ponty
Dai Ponty
13 days ago

Do people need any more evidence that Tory a Labour DO NOT CARE ABOUT WALES its england england england it is supposed to be an equal union never has been never will be both tory and labour treat us Welsh like dirt and Poo on us and that would also be like that under reform so do not be fooled by them get labour out of Wales and get out of the U K

Tony T
Tony T
13 days ago
Reply to  Dai Ponty

I agree. Tories and Labour are two cheeks of the same backside and Reform is the hole.

Rob
Rob
13 days ago

England and Wales implies that Wales is subservient to the other nations of the world. That’s why I will never support the England Cricket Team even if there are Welsh players in the squad. How long did Serbia and Montenegro last as a single entity? Can you imagine England and Scotland, or England and Northern Ireland? We need to show more self-respect for ourselves as a nation.

Ap Kenneth
Ap Kenneth
13 days ago

Wales has £4 Billion in rail projects ready to go forward, see Mark Barrys blog : https://swalesmetroprof.blog/2025/06/04/the-csr-wales-rail-investment/

These can all be rapidly moved forward, not by 2040 but far quicker if allowed.

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