Wales short-changed as England prospers

IT’S generally recognised, including by Barnett himself, that, in keeping to the Barnett formula, Westminster well underfunds Wales on a means basis.

Worse still is Westminster’s allocation of finance for our rail infrastructure. We have 6% of the UK’s railtrack and 5% of its population, but only receive 1% of UK railway infrastructure spending. Wales will receive £1bn less than our fair share of railway investment in the next five years. Also, Westminster has failed to honour its £700m, 2012 pledge to electrify the railway from Cardiff to Swansea and has

rejected devolution of Welsh rail infrastructure.

England has had several thousand miles of electrified rail transport for many decades, but Wales, currently, has not one single mile of electrified railway.

Meanwhile, in England, the £15bn Crossrail scheme, Europe’s largest construction project, nears completion, to be followed by HS2, which will cost more than £60bn.

Also, plans are being developed for an even larger Crossrail 2 (£30bn – again, in London!). I understand that the scheme’s proposed management is deeply ashamed at the ongoing, arrogant, despotic way Wales is generally treated by Westminster and, for Crossrail 2, in an attempt to pour oil onto troubled waters, they are apparently considering using bi-modal traction units – a combination of steam engines and horse-drawn trams!

Gareth Davies Alltwen