The new secretary of state for Wales has attempted to defend the UK Government decision to make Wales miss out HS2 funding.
Though more than £96bn will be spent on HS2 in England the UK Government has defined it as an England and Wales project. This means that Wales gets no extra funding at all, though Scotland and Northern Ireland are both getting a huge amount. This is despite the fact none of the HS2 line is in Wales.
If Wales was to get its fair share of HS2 funding it would add up to about £5bn. This would truly transform Wales historically underfunded rail network.
Read more: Why is Wales missing out on the UK's biggest-ever rail infrastructure spending spree?
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently appointed Monmouth MP David TC Davies as secretary of state for Wales. He was challenged in an interview with the BBC's Daniel Davies about the decision to class HS2 as a Wales project. He asked the Welsh secretary: "It is perverse, isn't it that Scotland gets funding because that rail line will be exclusively in England, and Wales doesn't even [get any even] though people say it'll hurt the Welsh economy?"
David Davies' response was misleading in several ways. To help you understand we have broken down what he said line by line.
His first line was: " Well Scotland gets funding because the entire rail network in Scotland is devolved, whereas Wales and England operate as one big network."
Mr Davies is right, Scotland automatically does get a consequential because rail is devolved. However, this doesn't automatically mean Wales should not get anything because we are "one big network".
When Crossrail was built it was deemed that as this was clearly wasn't a benefit for Wales and Wales got some equivalent cash. It wasn't automatic that Wales would be shafted over HS2. David Cameron's government applied, in the technical jargon, a 0% comparability factor for Wales to HS2 spending. They didn't have to do this. It was a decision they made. A piece of accountancy sleight of hand to save money at the expense of Wales.
Mr Davies then said: "The reason behind HS2 is to get people out of the cars given the option of using public transport, and therefore you want it to be targeted in the area where it's going to get the most benefit for the environment."
It is hard to even know what point Mr Davies is trying to make here. No one is doubting that improving the rail network is good for the environment (though there is debate on the merits of the HS2 project). However the environmental benefits have no bearing on why Wales is unique among the nations of the UK not to see a benefit from HS2.
On his point about "you want it to be targeted in the area where it's going to get the most benefit" perhaps he means that England is more densely populated therefore it makes sense to have your high speed line there. Well....OK.....but this still doesn't explain why Wales doesn't deserve a consequential but Scotland (who will arguably benefit far more from HS2 as it is a north/south line) does.
Next the Welsh sec said: "It's going to benefit Wales, it's going to benefit people in North Wales who will benefit from better access at Crewe to London."
Where to even begin with this? Yes people in the North of Wales will be able to get to London a bit quicker. But the Treasury's own analysis suggests that HS2 will actually hurt the South Wales economy to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds a year.
Also, the issue with Wales' rail network isn't that it takes to long to get to London. It is that we have less electrification than any other UK nation, it is that our entire network is creaking and underfunded, it is the fact that to get from Aberystwyth to Cardiff you have to go via England! The idea that going to England quicker offsets the £5bn Wales should have shows the skewed view the UK Government have about this issue.
While we are on the subject of that £5bn, let's look at what that would buy Wales. This could fund the South Wales and Swansea Bay metros, integrate north Wales with lines with Merseyside, and connect Aberystwyth and Swansea via train.
Incredibly Mr Davies next defence was to say: "It's also going to benefit companies across Wales who are feeding into the supply chain, including one major company in my own constituency."
What is this about? The idea that because some Welsh companies will receive tax payers money to build an infrastructure project in England some how offsets £5bn is just insane. Companies from all over the world will be helping build HS2. The fact some happen to be in Wales is totally irrelevant to the argument about why Wales is being uniquely shortchanged here.
Finally, Mr Davies said: "And of course, the UK Government has already demonstrated its commitment to rail infrastructure through £340 million pounds worth of investment, including the electrification of the Seven Tunnel. Many of the works that are taking place outside of Wales in England are still benefiting Welsh passengers."
Oh good lord what a mess. First let's take all the investment that Wales should be grateful for.
Wales has been relentlessly stuck in second class when it comes to UK rail investment. Over the eight years from 2011-12 to 2019-20, Wales received a total of £514m less than it would have if it received under a population based share of the UK's rail infrastructure spending. That's according to calculations by the Wales Governance Centre.
Next we have this like that "works that are taking place outside of Wales in England are still benefiting Welsh passengers". Of course, if you a person living in Cardiff who gets the train to London regularly you will benefit from improvements in England. But you would also benefit from spending on London hospitals if you broke your leg while in London. This wouldn't justify Wales get less money for health just because some people from Wales use the NHS in England.
It all come back to this idea that to help Wales people here need to get to England quicker. Electrification in England does nothing for the people crammed onto old and unfit for purpose Valley lines.
Read more:
- Why is Wales missing out on the UK's biggest-ever rail infrastructure spending spree?
- We asked the Chancellor why Wales is missing out on HS2 funding
- The UK government email that seems to sum up how little they care about Wales' rail network
- The strange world of former climate change denier, devolution and same-sex marriage opponent David Davies
