There’s been a lot of noise in the Welsh press over recent months over the £4 billion owed to Wales as a result of the HS2 railway project. In this column, I’ll explain why it matters, and why we in west Wales are being sold short.
What is Wales Owed?
The majority of the Welsh Government’s annual budget is determined by something called the Barnett Formula. In simple terms, for whatever money is spent in England, Wales gets an amount proportional to our population, which is roughly 6% of England’s.
HS2, for example, a 140-mile railway line between London and Staffordshire, has cost the UK Treasury £70 billion, so you’d expect that a figure equal to 6% of this would go to Wales – this is where we get the £4 billion from.
This is a huge sum of money. For context, the Welsh Government’s annual budget – which pays for our health service, social care, education, housing, transport and all other matters it is responsible for – is roughly £26 billion. If we got what we’re owed, it would make a real difference to the lives of the people of Wales.
What Is Wales Getting?
The UK Government, however, has chosen to classify HS2 as an ‘England and Wales’ project, despite not one inch of track coming anywhere near Wales, meaning that the Barnett Formula doesn’t apply to us. So, while Scotland and Northern Ireland both get billions of pounds to spend as they wish, Wales doesn’t get a penny.
Perhaps in a response to Plaid Cymru’s campaign around HS2, Rachel Reeves, the UK Chancellor, announced £0.4 billion for railways in Wales in her spending review this month. While headline-grabbing, this is really nothing to shout about. Bear in mind that it is only 10% of the HS2 £4 billion owed to us, and that Greater Manchester is getting £2.5 billion, and the West Midlands £2.4 billion. Our paltry sum is also being spread out over a period of 10 years.
What Is West Wales Getting?
If we look at where exactly the £0.4 billion will go, there are plans for 5 new railway stations around Cardiff and Newport in south-east Wales, and work on links around Wrexham and Liverpool in north-east Wales.
Good for them, but what’s coming down the tracks for west Wales? Well, next to nothing, it seems. We’re being short-changed, ignored, and held back yet again.
The proposals to build the West Wales Parkway railway station near Felindre, north of Swansea, for example, which would greatly improve connectivity in the surrounding area, have been stuck in the planning stage for 6 years. It was estimated in 2019 that the project could be carried out for £20 million – we simply haven’t received the money for it.
Eluned Morgan’s job as First Minister is to stand up for Wales. Her job as Member of the Senedd is to stand up for west Wales. She and her Labour Government have failed on both counts.
It’s time for change – it’s time for Plaid Cymru.
