The UK Government has no plans to change the classification of HS2 according to the UK Government's chief secretary to the Treasury. Previously a WalesOnline investigation demonstrated how Wales was being short-changed by £5bn over high-speed rail as it has been defined by the Tories as an "England and Wales" project despite not a single metre of track actually being in Wales. Both Welsh Labour and the Welsh Tories have called for the project to be reclassified.
Appearing before the Welsh Affairs Committee in Westminster chief secretary to the Treasury John Glen was questioned over why Wales was being uniquely short-changed over HS2 when both Northern Ireland and Scotland would be receiving a significant consequential. He was asked by MP Rob Roberts why it wasn't being reclassified as an England only project. To this Mr Glen said: "Because heavy rail infrastructure is reserved." The other UK nations therefore get the money automatically because rail is devolved in Northern Ireland and Scotland but not Wales.
However this ignores the precedent set by Crossrail. When Crossrail was built it was so clearly only of benefit to England that Wales received a consequential.
Mr Glen, like many UK Government spokesmen before him charged with explaining why HS2 should not be treated the same way, tried to argue that people in north Wales would be able to get to London faster and therefore it should be seen as an England and Wales project. Secretary of state for Wales David TC Davies has made similar arguments.
"There are issues around the improvements to reliability, the connectivity, and the capacity that come from HS2," Mr Glen added. "You also would recognise that the purpose and one of the key drivers of investing in infrastructure that's so expensive, and so takes a long time to deliver, is for the overall value to the UK economy, driving tax receipts and driving overall prosperity, which will be good for the whole of the United Kingdom. That classification isn't going to change."
The Welsh Government, Welsh Conservatives, and the Welsh Affairs Committee have called for HS2 to be reclassified. However even any future shift in power in Westminster appears unlikely to shift the dial on the present plan. Speaking to WalesOnline earlier this year Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer refused to commit to giving Wales it's fair share of rail funding either.
