Why did the Senedd vote against fair funding for Wales from HS2?

Emily Price

This week a Senedd motion calling for Wales to get what it’s owed from the controversial HS2 project was voted down.

But why was it rejected by a majority of MSs when broadly there seems to be a cross-party consensus that Wales has been shafted when it comes to the high speed rail scheme.

The project has been contentious because of its classification as an England and Wales rail line despite none of the track crossing the Welsh border.

The classification meant no consequential cash was released to Wales by the Treasury using the Barnett formula.

This is usually determined based on whether the UK Government increases or decreases funding for departments that cover devolved areas.

Experts say Westminster’s control of rail investment means Wales loses out on money.

Classification

The former Conservative Government justified HS2’s classification by claiming it would benefit north Wales via a link to Crewe.

But the link north of Birmingham was later scrapped by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The cash amount thought to be owed to Wales from HS2 spending has changed drastically over the last two years with estimates of billions suddenly dropping to millions – a fluctuation that has appeared to correlate with a new Labour government coming to power.

Regardless of the amount, Members of the Senedd from across the political spectrum seem to agree that HS2 is not an England – Wales project.

Former Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies went against his own party in 2022 when he told Boris Johnson that Wales should get what’s it’s owed.

Welsh Labour have previously called for billions in HS2 consequential cash and say that Wales has been underfunded on rail infrastructure for years.

Plaid Cymru and the Senedd’s only Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds also say Wales is owed its fair share of funding.

Tumbleweeds

But this week Conservative and Labour MSs in Cardiff Bay voted down a motion calling for the Welsh Government to make representations to their counterparts in Westminster for the project to be reclassified as “England-only”.

Why did they do this when both parties appear to broadly agree that Wales has been short changed?

In recent months, opposition debates in the Senedd have largely become a pointless fixture that see few MSs bother to show their faces.

The HS2 debate on Wednesday was a prime example of this – if you looked very closely you could almost make out the tumbleweeds wafting around the Conservative and Labour benches.

Although I recognise that sometimes there are good reasons for MSs not to attend Plenary, the amount of MSs missing during some debates in the Welsh Parliament has become shocking – especially given that they are paid over £70,000 a year.

Plaid had tabled the motion so understandably their members were out in full force.

Only two or three Conservative members showed their faces and only around 7 Labour MSs were seen on Senedd TV cameras.

‘Depressing’

Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds was there – she described the debate as “depressing” given that all parties agree that Wales was being robbed on HS2 yet can’t unite on the motion.

In my opinion, the wording of the motion set it up to fail before the debate even began.

It called on the Welsh Government to:

• Provide updated figures on the shortfall in rail enhancement investment in Wales;
• Confirm its position that HS2 should be redesignated as an England-only project and that Wales should receive the resultant consequentials in line with figures quoted by current UK Government Ministers when in opposition; and
• Write to the UK Secretary of State for Transport to ask for the full consequentials to be made available to Wales and reversal of low levels of enhancement spending.

Labour hit “delete all” on the motion and instead inserted a list of reasons why Wales should supposedly be grateful for having a Labour government at both ends of the M4.

Several Welsh Conservative MSs told me they would have voted the first motion through if Plaid hadn’t have included wording that lashed out at the previous UK Government over a half-cocked pledge to electrify the north Wales mainline.

One Tory source suggested this lack of cross-party teamwork on an issue that Plaid and the Conservatives broadly agree on was due to the fact MSs are currently looking ahead to the next Senedd election.

A Conservative source agreed saying that with 2026 only around the corner, opposition debates on Wednesday were about political posturing and not for getting anything done.

Swipe

I asked a Plaid Cymru MS why, if the party cared so deeply about HS2 cash, did their motion take a swipe at the Tories making it unlikely that the group would vote with them.

They said that the party felt it was important to point out the failure of two successive UK Governments – whether blue or red, Westminster will always put Wales at the back of the queue.

And then there’s Labour’s choice to delete the motion entirely.

There is no doubt that a new Labour Government in Westminster has led to Welsh ministers in Cardiff Bay being put in a very difficult position as they scramble to give the impression of a sound partnership.

Let’s be clear though, Labour calls for HS2 cash were much louder before Sir Keir Starmer got the keys to Number 10.

This gives the impression that tribal loyalties are being put ahead of the national interest.

There does seem to be a few Labour MSs that are willing to put their heads above the parapet when it comes to HS2 funding – but they all still voted against the Plaid Cymru motion.

Poorly drafted

One Labour MS told me they felt the motion was very poorly drafted.

They echoed the words of the Tories saying that for Plaid the debate was all about political posturing and not about securing a positive outcome for Wales.

All the Members of the Senedd I spoke to for this explainer piece were told they could remain anonymous.

But backbench Labour MS Alun Davies was keen to go on the record with his views on HS2 funding.

He said: “My view is that we need to set out a route to the full devolution of rail infrastructure. Neither yesterday’s motion nor the amendment was clear on that.

“The Welsh and UK governments need to sit down, agree on devolution and then set out the investment and (short) timescale required to deliver it.

“The issue over HS2 funding is both an historic one and a current/future issue. It is appalling that the UK government treats Wales and Welsh needs in such a cavalier fashion. We deserve the same deal as Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

The key point here is that Wales is the only UK country that does not possess either the powers or the budget to create an integrated public transport system.

Even if Plaid’s HS2 motion had been voted through this week, it would have still been a long road to get the UK Government to pay up.

But it would have at least showed that all parties in the Senedd collectively recognise the outrageous  systemic inequality that Wales has suffered when it comes to funds being divvied up by Westminster.