Calls for clarity on Barnett consequentials as concerns grow after HS2 decision
THE WELSH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS have warned that Wales could be “short-changed once again” after the UK Chancellor confirmed that the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project will go ahead in full.
The party says there is now a “real risk” that the UK Government will repeat the controversial classification decision taken during HS2, when the high-speed railway—running entirely in England—was labelled an “England and Wales” project. That decision meant Wales did not receive the full Barnett consequentials it would ordinarily expect, despite Welsh taxpayers helping to fund the scheme.
Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds said the UK Government must urgently set out how Northern Powerhouse Rail will be categorised.
“This must not become a repeat of the HS2 scandal. Welsh taxpayers should not be forced to bankroll a railway they will never use. That is levelling up England using the wallet of Wales,” she said.
The party is calling on the UK Government either to classify Northern Powerhouse Rail as an England-only project or to guarantee full Barnett consequentials for Wales.
Background
Wales would have received billions of pounds in additional investment if HS2 had been categorised as England-only. The Welsh Government and cross-party Senedd committees have repeatedly described the HS2 classification as “unfair” and “deeply damaging” to Welsh finances.
Under the system, major infrastructure spending in England normally generates a proportional uplift in the Welsh budget. But the HS2 decision meant Wales received no such uplift, while Scotland and Northern Ireland did.
With Northern Powerhouse Rail now proceeding in full, opposition parties in Wales are warning that a repeat of the HS2 approach would again deny Wales funding for investment in transport, public services and economic development.
Downing Street has not yet confirmed how NPR will be classified for the purposes of the Barnett formula.
