‘HS2 all over again’: why is Oxford-Cambridge ‘England and Wales’?

Local TV

Politicians in the Senedd have been arguing over a new train line between Oxford and Cambridge, and nowhere near Wales, which has been designated as an England and Wales project, meaning Welsh people are footing some of the bill for the plans.

Transcript

00:00HS2 funding has been a massive issue within the Senate for years now, mainly due to the

00:06cost it's had on Wales itself.

00:10The multi-billion pound project had been labelled an England and Wales project by the UK government,

00:15so that means that for every pound spent on it, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the other

00:19devolved nations in the UK, will receive a proportional amount for their transport budget,

00:25while Wales loses out on that money.

00:29Englanders in Wales had been arguing over the implications for some time, and the First

00:33Minister herself has said that she personally has spoken to Prime Minister Sakia Starmer

00:37over the issue, but that seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

00:41And now, much to the frustration of many people across Wales, another project has had the same

00:46designation which is even further away from Wales.

00:50A new train line between Cambridge and Oxford had been labelled as England and Wales, so

00:54that means, in simple terms, some of the money for that project is now coming from Welsh

00:59coffers.

01:01Pride Company leader Threenaap Yorworth raised the issue in the Senate at First Minister's

01:05questions on Tuesday, asking for Elinad Morgan's thoughts.

01:09But she says it was a totally different issue to HS2, as it was part of wider UK rail plans,

01:16and train infrastructure wasn't a devolved issue, so that means that funding couldn't

01:20come to Wales as part of devolution settlements.

01:25With mounting issues for the Welsh Government relating to allegedly unfair funding deals for

01:29Wales from the UK Government, this latest England and Wales designation will only cause

01:34more debate about how Wales' total funding is managed, and whether a new model will become

01:39increasingly necessary in the future.

01:41James Beach Watkins, reporting for Local TV.

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