BROKEN PROMISES?

Plaid Cymru’s Treasury Spokesperson, Jonathan Edwards MP, has raised serious concerns over indications that the Westminster Government could renege on its promise to allow the Welsh Government to borrow money to invest in infrastructure.

In an answer to a written parliamentary question by Mr Edwards, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss said “in light of [the Welsh Government’s] decision” not to go ahead with the M4 relief road, an increase in the borrowing cap will be reviewed.

Increasing the amount of money the Welsh Government can borrow requires the approval of the Westminster Government. Such an uplift in the Welsh Government’s capital borrowing allowances (the amount it can borrow to spend on physical assets such as roads or buildings) was announced in the Westminster Government’s 2018 Budget. At the time concerns were raised over indications that the Westminster Government would make devolution of extra borrowing powers contingent on the development of a specific M4 relief road route.

On 4 June this year, the Welsh Government announced that it would not build any M4 relief road. The concerns raised at the time of the announcement of the cap increase look to be realised, as the Westminster Government is now considering pulling back on the uplift of £300million.

A core principle of devolution is that the money granted to the devolved administration is a matter for the devolved areas over which it governs and the democratically elected National Assembly which oversees it. Linking increases in borrowing capacity to a preferred policy of the Westminster government runs contrary to this principle, particularly considering the project in question – the M4 relief road – sits within the devolved field of transport.

Jonathan Edwards MP said:

“It is outrageous that the Westminster Government is pulling back on its promise to allow the Welsh Government to borrow to invest in infrastructure. Devolution has been in place for over twenty years, but Westminster is still trying to use dirty tricks to undermine it.

“The M4 relief road, was highly environmentally damaging and has been rejected. Westminster cannot dictate what the devolved Government and Assembly should back, simply because they don’t like it.  

“Welsh transport infrastructure is crying out for investment and I am extremely disappointed in the record of the Labour Welsh Government on the issue. The fact that they did not have a plan for alternative investment plans in greener, cleaner options when they cancelled the development of the M4 relief road speaks volumes about their ambition. However, this does not mean that Westminster has any right to undermine the democratic structures of devolution.

“The very principle of devolution is being questioned by the Westminster Government. If they do as they are threatening and renege on their commitments, they will be undermining the fragile constitutional compromise that underpins the relationship between Wales and Westminster.”

ENDS

Notes

• M4: Wales: Written questions
• 259943 – https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-06-04/259944/
• 259944 – https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-06-04/259943/
• ITV – Row over proposed Welsh Government multi-million pound borrowing powers – https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2018-10-30/wales-budget-borrowing-powers-m4-cairns-drakeford/

SLOWLY LOSING OUR BANKS

Bank closures, remain, and are likely to remain at least for the foreseeable future a simple sad fact of life for many communities across much of rural and not so rural Wales. The closures appear relentless and unstoppable, despite the fact that high street banks could and should have a roll to play within the economic life of our communities. We have been here before and will no doubt be back. It should be obvious by now that the big 4 banks don’t care about public opinion or the consequences of the closures on local communities. 

A bank closure notice

There is a recognisable pattern to the process - local political and community leaders rightly kick off and are justifiably angry along with local residents who are often interviewed by local media. As part of this cycle we have the usual weasel words from the bank themselves, but, once the initial fuss settles the closure will roll on – as the large London based banks are pretty much answerable to no one save themselves – certainly not anyone here in Cymru / Wales.

Dropping the spin (about the growth in on-line banking and it’s use – if you have no choice what else are people going to do) this is about nothing more than cutting running costs, the banks have little (or no concern) for their relatively unprofitable personal customers or the concerns of their local business customers or our smaller communities. As has been noted elsewhere, by no less than the US Senate, some banks have other more pressing interests than those of their domestic customers like helping to launder money for drug dealers, dictators and terrorists, so much for being a local bank. 

More than 200 banks have shut in Wales since 2008, leaving towns such as Newcastle Emlyn,  Hay-on-Wye and Llandovery (since 9th June), too name but a few towns, without any banks. The loss of small town banks is not confined to rural areas - it has been paralleled by the loss of suburban banks which have also quietly disappeared from local shopping centres in our cities and smaller valley towns. 

Local banks remain useful for the high street and local communities, they help to promote vitality and vibrancy and make it easier for local businesses to operate. Local businesses to a degree benefit from the existence of local high street branches by picking up passing trade from bank customers. Once local bank branches close, the impact will be felt locally especially by older residents and local business owners who have to trek further and further to pay in their taking and the subsequent drop in passing trade. 

Even where banks survive there is a visible trend to replace person centred banking with machine centred banking. In my bank - even if there is no cue customers are regularly referred to machines to pay in cash or cheques or withdraw cash before you get a chance to talk to cashiers. This trend which is also being mirrored in some of the larger supermarkets is not about giving customers a choice or and easier service it's about reducing staffing costs to a minimum - something that will cut jobs and the wage bill. 

This situation has been further aggravated by the demise of many building societies, most by no means all of which were largely hoovered by the banks within a few years of them being floated. It is perhaps a pity that we don’t have some sort of risk free Post Office Savings bank – save for the fact that it was recklessly sold off by a previous Conservative government on the cheap. That said, it is of course important to remember that one result of the demise of the regional banks was the relentless rise of the big 4 banks which led to the growth of the reckless casino banking and cheap credit that brought about the financial crash.

Once you factor in the ruthless Post Office closure programme that was pushed through by the then Labour Government, and continued by the former Con - Lib Dem coalition government prior to it’s privatisation of the Post Office. Which in turn was preceded by the rapid floatation and rapid demise of most of our building societies you can clearly see how we got here - sorting the mess out is not going to be easy – perhaps as has been said before we need some sort of publically owned community owned Wales savings bank or Bank Cambria.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The First Minister made the right choice about the M4 Relief road. Personally I have been opposed to the project since the 1990's. It's been dropped more times over the years than a questionable county striker. Whats important now - is what happens next to alleviate the traffic problems that regularly clog up our city - the M4 Relief road would have done little to resolve them - despite the promises. If we are serious about giving people a realistic alternative to the car in and around Newport (and elsewhere) then we need decent integrated reliable public transport - without that nothing is going to change. 

What happens next is now of real significance - there are some small significant and long overdue projects - which would be big wins by way of infrastructure in Newport which should have been completed decades ago. A prime example is that of the proposed re-opening of the railway station at Caerleon - this has been in the structure plan since 1986 - but nothing has been done. Not to mention railway stations at Llanwern and Magor - approved in principle but with no ground broken as the years continue to pass. There are sone relatively simple potentially significant easy wins - which could have a big impact on the congestion problem in and around Newport and on the coastal plain. We need railway stations, with decent facilities and significant park and ride (with sensible walk to routes) at: 

• Caerleon / Ponthir , 
• Magor, and 
• Llanwern 

Across the south east, we can start with the Ebbw vale link to Newport needs to be re-timetabled and the line extended to Aberbeeg (as originally promised). Trains already periodically run on this line into Newport - when maintenance is under taken elsewhere. This reinstated service would enable connecting services to be run into Newport - giving commuters to Bristol and further afield an alternative means of getting to and from their places of work. 

The link to Ebbw Vale...

Within Newport there is a need to develop a decent system of public transport - based around a light rail / tram network which connects Bettws / Malpas, Duffryn and Pill and Alway / Ringland with the city centre and the railway station(s). At present the residents of Bettws, Pill, Duffryn and Alway / Ringland have no alternative but to drive, use the much reduced bus service or walk. Trams are not a pipe dream they are already an important part of integrated public transport systems in Merton (in south west London), Sheffield, Manchester and elsewhere. They would work equally well in Newport, Cardiff and Swansea and feed people into our main line railway stations. 

Elsewhere in the former county of Gwent there is much work that needs to be done. Our railway stations at Abergavenny, Pontypwl and Cwmbran, Caldicot , Severn Tunnel and Chepstow have all seen some degree of improvement but are barely fit for service. All these stations need improvement and need more stopping services and better facilities hand in hand with the development of secure reasonably priced park and ride facilities. There should be a feasibility study into reopening the branch line to Usk (with a station sited West of the River Usk (with decent park and ride facilities). Along with this there is a case for a park and ride railway station at Little Mill (especially with the proposed hoisting development at Mamihiiad). With all of this we need integrated ticketing - with one ticket coverage all modes of transport - it either well elsewhere in these islands - so why not here? 

The National Assembly also needs to work systematically and over the long term to get long distance freight traffic off our roads and back onto our railways. If you are shipping a container from Neath or Newport to Nuneaton or Namur it needs to be on a train not trundling around the motorway network. Successive Scottish government have had done success with encouraging and incentivising the movement of freight from road back to rail. Hand in hand with this initiative there is a real need to fundamentally change the delivery cycle from last minute to more planned delivery cycle. 

We need workable medium term solutions that will fundamentally impact on our options for moving about our city, the SE and the rest of Wales. What we don't need now is inaction, we gave had plenty of that, combined with poor if not down right bad decision making on the part if government at all levels, be it Westminster, National Assembly and local level - the consequences of which we are all living with every day in the south east and across the rest of Cymru / Wales. The tine for excuses us past - what's needed now is action on the ground to begin to sort out our congestion problems and to provide us with decent integrated transport that's fit for the 21st century rather the 20th.