Treasury minister tells Welsh MP to ‘be more grateful’ for rail funding

Emily Price

A treasury minister has told a Welsh MP he should be “a little bit more grateful” for the railway funding Wales received in the UK Government’s recent spending review.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones made the comment in the House of Commons on Thursday (June 19).

It came in response to a question from Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP David Chadwick who said it was “insulting” to say Wales was being given a fair deal when it came to rail funding.

The Liberal Democrat said: “We know that we have been cheated out of billions of pounds due to the classification of several projects as England and Wales Projects.

“Wales is only getting five railway stations between Newport and Cardiff.

“That’s hardly national renewal is it? So, will he bet on Wales and commit to projects outside of that belt across mid Wales and west Wales or the electrification of the north and south Wales?”

‘Grateful’

Responding the treasure minister said there was a “key difference” under the Labour Government as under the last government “Wales didn’t get a penny”.

He said: “Under this government working with the government in Wales, not only have you got the largest real terms increase in spending in Wales since devolution began, you’ve got £455 for rail infrastructure, nearly £130m for coal tip safety and many many other thing.

“This is the benefit of two Labour governments working together to deliver for the people of Wales.”

Pointing at Chadwick across the Commons chamber, Darren Jones added: “He might want to be a little bit more grateful in future.”

A sharp intake of breath could be heard from assembled MPs in response to the treasury minister’s comment.

‘Insulting’

David Chadwick described the tense exchange as “downright insulting” and “gobsmackingly arrogant” and ‘indicative of Labour’s ongoing disregard for the deep-rooted structural inequalities that have left Wales persistently short-changed on rail investment’.

Under the spending review, Wales’s share of rail funding was significantly less than regions with smaller populations – such as Manchester which was allocated £2.5 billion.

Labour ministers have claimed the cash compensates for previous underinvestment – but transport experts have disputed that assertion.

The Liberal Democrats say that with no reforms to the funding model, Wales is set to remain at a “disadvantage” – particularly as major projects like East-West Rail proceed in England without any corresponding funding for Wales.

This is unlike the arrangements in place for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Funding

There are warnings that this disparity could deepen now that HS2 has been delayed beyond 2033 – requiring multiple further rounds of funding.

Under the current system, this will continue to exclude consequential payments to Wales for its own transport projects.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick said: “This was a gobsmackingly arrogant response from the Minister that just shows how out of touch Labour are with Wales.

“Labour has given Wales absolute crumbs when it comes to rail funding in this Spending Review and totally failed to address the structural problems leading to this injustice, yet the Minister says we should be grateful for the scraps they’ve offered us. It’s simply unbelievable.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats will continue to fight for fair infrastructure funding for Wales so we can build an economy that supports our communities, even in the face of fierce opposition from Labour.”