Wales offers valid plans for the future as May seeks ideas from rival parties
As Theresa May aims to garner ideas from all hues to ‘find a better way forward for Britain’, Political Editor David Williamson has suggestions based on the Welsh model
THERESA May has challenged other parties to come forward with ideas to help tackle the challenges facing the country.
The Conservative leader wants her minority government to work with counterparts in the Commons so “a better way forward” can be found.
Her £1bn deal with the DUP has kept the Tories in power, but in a major speech yesterday she urged MPs from rival parties to “contribute, not just criticise”.
Here are five areas where she may be able to secure cross-party support: 1. Make the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon a reality.
Supporters of the landmark lagoon project claim it would provide electricity for 155,000 homes for the next 120 years. But more than that, it would demonstrate to the rest of the world how this technology can harness the power of the tides.
The project received an enthusiastic thumbs-up from the independent Hendry Review in January but there was no mention of the project in the Conservative manifesto. The UK government is coming under increasingly intense criticism for its slow response to the review.
A green light for the project would be supported by politicians from different parties as well as leading figures in business and the trade unions.
It would allow Mrs May to say she is taking action to spread prosperity beyond London and also claim that her government is taking decisive action to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. 2. Electrify the Great Western rail line to Swansea.
The 2013 announcement that the Great Western route between London and Swansea would be electrified was greeted with great excitement. Cutting the time it takes to travel to and from London is considered essential if Wales is not to lose out in the battle for investment.
Cities in south Wales will find it harder to compete against English counterparts as ideal locations for out-of-London headquarters once the HS2 network slashes journey times between London and the likes of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.
Electrified services from Cardiff to London are due to start in 2019. Work on the completion of the electrification of the line through to Swansea is earmarked to take place in the 2019-2024 period but there is anxiety as to whether this will become a reality.
There would be grave disappointment – and political anger – if Swansea remains stuck in the diesel age. Action to ensure the full project is delivered would allow the Prime Minister to present herself as a champion of infrastructure investment. 3. Bring Research and Development jobs to Wales and the poorer regions of the UK.
A major report this week revealed that in 2015 Wales had fewer people employed in research and experimental development in biotechnology, natural sciences and engineering than any other region of Great Britain.
While 36,500 people worked in these areas in the South East, a mere 2,100 were employed in Wales.
Sheffield Hallam University’s report on the Industrial Strategy and the Regions reported that “the Cambridge area alone [had] just short of 15,000 R&D jobs of this kind”.
It is hard to argue that Wales is a true “knowledge economy” if so few people on the cutting edge of research are based in this nation.
The government could win crossparty support for efforts to encourage our universities and business parks to become centres for worldclass research. There will be no shortage of ideas about how to encourage institutions to set up bases in Wales – tax breaks and action on visas to make it easier for the best international graduates to work here could all play an important role. 4. Slash VAT on tourism.
For years there have been passionate calls for VAT to be cut for the tourist sector. This is seen as a key way to boost coastal communities and help the UK thrive in a competitive international tourism market.
There have also been calls for the Welsh Government to gain the ability to set Air Passenger Duty – a move which could make Cardiff Airport more attractive as it seeks new routes.
If MPs from across the party spectrum push for such measures they may now find it easier to persuade the Treasury to take action.
The government’s deal with the DUP contained a commitment for a report into the “impact of VAT and APD on tourism in Northern Ireland to recommend how best to build upon the growing success of that sector”.
If this is a credible enough proposition for Northern Ireland, then why not Wales? 5. Build the Heathrow “spur” which would link the airport to Wales.
Back in 2012, the unveiling of plans for a link between the Great Western line and Heathrow was welcomed by former First Minister Rhodri Morgan as “one of the most important announcements in the last 50 years”.
No longer would people who arrive in Heathrow have to go to London’s Paddington station before boarding a train to Wales (or vice versa).