SF chided over ‘Trump-style’ rallies plan
SINN Fein has been accused of planning ‘Trump-style’ rallies in the Republic rather than focusing on trying to form a government. Mary Lou McDonald’s (right) party has been criticised for planning public rallies over the next fortnight to bolster its case that it should not be excluded from the next Irish government. Fianna Fail TD Thomas Byrne said: “These Trump-style rallies don’t indicate a party that is seriously preparing for government.” Fine Gael junior minister Patrick O’Donovan claimed Sinn Fein wants “to give out and shout and roar but in actual fact do nothing”.
THE leader of the SDLP has called for a “significant” infrastructure fund for Northern Ireland following confirmation the HS2 project is to go ahead.
Colum Eastwood has written to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to ask if the multi-billion-pound investment in the English rail project will result in equivalent investment in Northern Ireland.
The letter from the Foyle MP follows confirmation that the HS2 project will proceed, at an estimated cost of up to £106bn.
Mr Eastwood said such a spend should result in significant allocations under the Barnett funding formula to “level up local infrastructure”. His party colleague Nichola Mallon is the region’s Infrastructure Minister.
The SDLP leader outlined a number of proposed infrastructure projects that need funding, including rail expansion into the west of the region, the cross-border Narrow Water bridge,, and a rapid rail service between Londonderry, Belfast and Dublin.
“Developing regionally balanced infrastructure is critical to driving economic growth, creating new jobs and transforming the lives of people across the North,” Mr Eastwood said. “It is an urgent priority for the SDLP, that’s why we chose to take on the challenge of the Department for Infrastructure in the new Executive.
“While Boris Johnson talks about fantasy bridges, we’re concerned about building roads, upgrading rail and connecting our communities in a way that delivers opportunity for everyone.
“That’s why I’ve written to the British Chancellor today requesting detailed projections of the Barnett allocations the Executive should receive from projects like HS2, where costs are spiralling beyond £100bn, to level up infrastructure on this island.”
Mr Eastwood said politicians in Northern Ireland “need to be ambitious about connecting our communities”. He said: “We have a vision for supercharging transport infrastructure, attracting new industries and providing new opportunities for people and communities that have been left behind.
“That means finally delivering rail expansion into the West, investing in North South infrastructure like Narrow Water Bridge, and a rapid rail service between Derry, Belfast and Dublin and connecting communities across the island in a real way.”
While Northern Ireland is expected to receive proportionate funding as a result of HS2 spending in England, the Stormont Executive can decide where the money should be spent. It means there will be competition between departments for any extra funding for Northern Ireland.
Since the restoration of Stormont, cash-strapped departments have been setting out how their budgets have left them unable to provide adequate services to the public. A Department for Infrastructure official recently revealed it needs £800m in the next financial year just to cover existing commitments, with those in the New Decade, New Approach deal which restored devolution requiring more.
Earlier this month, Health Minister Robin Swann said he needed more than £660m to maintain existing services and meet commitments made in the New Deal agreement. And last week, the Department for Education said it needs £427m more
next year to pay for special needs education, pay for teachers and school maintenance.
However, officials will be hoping that the UK Budget on March 11 and billed by the Sunday Times as the “biggest spending giveaway” since 2001 will live up to the spin.
A Treasury source said: “The Chancellor wants to put the Treasury at the heart of the levelling-up agenda and wants to rethink how we make decisions that affect the whole of the UK.
“He wants to shift the gravity of economic decision away from the capital to our regions and nations — and setting up a new economic decision-making campus in the north of England will do that.
“It will be key in helping spread opportunity and prosperity to all, and allow the Treasury to access a more diverse range of talent, making it more reflective of the country as a whole.”
Economic analysts have said Whitehall spending under the Conservatives, a party famed for being tight on the purse strings, could be set to rise to as much as £1 trillion for the first time by 2023-24.
Resolution Foundation economist Jack Leslie said: “The Chancellor’s big-spending plans to ‘level up’ the country through infrastructure projects will lead to a bigger state than at any point under Tony Blair, and marks a big shift for a traditionally small state Conservative Party.
“But new roads and rail lines are only part of the story for a Government wishing to turn the corner on a decade of austerity.
“If the Chancellor wants to increase spending on day-today public services in a fiscally responsible way he will have to change another of his party’s traditional priorities — lower taxes.
“Higher spending will require higher taxes.”