PLAID CYMRU'S MANIFESTO FOR NEWPORT

Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales is campaigning on five main issues in Newport:

• Making sure Newport gets it's fair share of the City Deal investment to improve local transport and create new jobs locally.
• Tackling the business rates scandal to help support local traders and to further revive Newport as a shopping destination.
• Campaigning for the Welsh Government to proclaim Newport as Wales's digital capital, building on our cyber security and digital reputation to help make Newport a digital world capital.
• Building affordable and sustainable housing, striking a balance by protecting our precious green spaces as well as providing affordable homes and converting empty properties.
• Campaigning against the black route of the proposed M4 Relief Road, thereby helping to save our environment and defending Newport's Port. This will allow us to invest in an alternative, sustainable and cheaper route.

If you want to find out more about Plaid Cymru in the City of Newport, visit our website: 

http://www.NewportPlaid.cymru

SO THERE WE HAVE IT…

So there we have it the Labour in Wales Welsh Government has made it decision to spend at least £ 1 billion pounds (more like £1.2 billion according to some estimates) of tax payers money on a single project to build a new road. This questionable and controversial decision has been taken despite there being more cost effective alternatives which would allow much needed investment in infrastructure across the rest of Wales.

The Labour Minister made the decision to order the construction of a new stretch of the M4 to the south of Newport between junctions 23 and 29. No one will argue that there are not problems with the M4 when it comes to traffic congestion, especially around the Brynglas tunnels. It’s the choice of route, the potential cost, the environmental impact and whether or not the Minister’s choice will be good value for money that have caused things to kick off.

To this can be added the way the Minister announced her decision unexpectedly and in an unscheduled way, literally on the last sitting day of the Assembly’s term. She chose not to respond to a letter from the Environment Committee before she announced the decision - something that has not happened before. Additionally, so far at least, no questioning of the Minister has ever been allowed to take place on the issue of the M4 relief road – in essence so very New Labour or perhaps so very Labour in Wales.

As for value for money a few years ago the cost was estimated by the Welsh Government as being between £800 million and £1 billion (and possibly up to £1.2 billion) depending on the route. The £1 billon ‘black route’ was Labour’s ‘preferred option’ and it is believed that this is what they have chosen. So far no information on how the project will be paid for has been produced. With the limited powers that the Welsh Government has Wales will be allowed to borrow up to a limit of £500 million in the recent deal with the UK government. All of that will be used up on this project with the other £500 million pounds or so will have to be found from elsewhere. 

The ‘black route’ would cross over the environmentally sensitive Gwent Levels, which are an important environmental site and wildlife habitat, and there are problems with building motorways more generally. Environmental, Business and other groups of people raised concerns during the (what many people consider to a deeply flawed) consultation process on what route to choose, that the Welsh Government over-estimated predicted traffic levels, made use of old data and did not fully carry out environmental checks that are meant to happen as part of making the decision.

By opting for the ‘Black route’ the Welsh Government has pretty much decided to use up all of the Welsh borrowing limit in one go and on one scheme. Even this decision won’t find all the necessary funds for the project which means that they will need to find the money from other budgets, which means projects elsewhere in the country will have to be delayed or even cancelled. 

However, you look at this, this is bad news for most parts of the country and means that investment is not being distributed fairly by the Labour in Wales Government. There is no detail on how the much needed South-East Wales Metro project can be funded (unless it is reduced in scale and made a less ambitious scheme), and there is nothing in the pipeline for the A55 or for west Wales beyond what has already been agreed.

Now no one is saying that there is not a need to improve east west communication links along the M4 corridor but any investment in infrastructure has to be affordable, sustainable and sensible. Plaid continues to support investment in the M4 corridor around Newport. When Plaid was last in government (between 2007 and 2011) investment in transport infrastructure included a substantial investment in the existing M4 along with investment in other areas of Wales.

Perhaps more disturbingly, this decision pretty much means that the hands of the future Welsh Governments will be tied into paying for this project. The Westminster government’s attempt to link borrowing powers and tax raising powers with the proposed M4 Relief Road is entirely unacceptable. The London-based Westminster government has no right to predetermine what the priorities, economic or otherwise of any Welsh Government should be.

We need a whole Wales transport plan and the vision to go with it. The problem is that the current Labour in Wales Government is perceived to lack any coherent all Wales vision in so many areas– this is a basic failure to stand up for Wales and is simply unacceptable. 

Now perhaps the reason for the failure may be down to a combination of poor advice from civil servants to ministers, simply a lack of vision or perhaps more disturbingly simply a marked indifference on the part of elected representatives of Labour in Wales to any other parts of Wales that fall outside what they perceive to be their territory.

WAITING FOR THE WORD

As part of the public spending review, the Chancellor George Osbourne announced that the Welsh government's budget will be cut by two per cent in 2015. Revealing details of the spending review MPs were told that the day-to-day revenue budget would be set at £13.6 billion pounds. He also revealed that the UK government would publish its response to the Silk commission on assembly powers shortly and details of an "impressive" M4 relief road plan would be revealed on Wednesday. The Wales Office (the Whitehall department) which represents Wales in the UK government would get a cut of 10% in its running costs. The Welsh government budget cuts are part of £11.5 billion pound savings from the UK government's overall spending plans of £740 billion pounds. Mr Osborne has more than once (before today) highlighted the need for a M4 relief road around Newport, while supporters of the scheme, and those who oppose it were hoping that the Chancellor would give the scheme the go-ahead this week it now appears that they and the residents of Brynglas (who’s homes have been threatened by a new M4 tunnel) will now have to wait a little longer before they get a definitive answer. Serious questions remain over how much the project will cost up to £1 billion pounds will be paid for? Will it be a toll road? Just exactly how better the money could be spent?

BORIS, TAX AND SPEND

Boris Johnson the London Mayor has called for devolved taxation for London, a first step to borrowing powers no doubt. The Westminster Government, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly are able to borrow to invest funds in large infrastructure projects. Yet, we in Wales have no borrowing powers despite having law making powers, a situation that is both untenable and unjust in my opinion. The failure to include anything about borrowing powers in the pending Wales Bill, is a real  lost opportunity and perpetuates the constitutional status quo. 

In the modern world, despite the banking crisis, whether we like it or not governments borrow, the real argument should not be over borrowing powers, rather about what infrastructure schemes that our government in Cardiff wants to invest in and whether they deliver value for money. A variety of  dubious expensive infrastructure projects have been touted from time to time as providing the justification for having borrowing powers including the exceptionally poor value for money and environmentally destructive M4 Relief road.

The hair brained M4 relief road across the Gwent levels would come in at around £1 billion pounds plus and would provide few realistic medium, let alone long term benefits, as it is a short term solution. Amongst the reasons why the option of the M4 relief road (South of Newport) was dropped relatively recently a few years ago; aside for the financial cost (around £1 billion pounds) and environmental impact was the key issue of the funding model. Ministers were advised that not only would the new relief road to be subjected to tolls, but so would the existing M4 would also be tolled. 

Interestingly enough the only other toll road in the UK is the M6 in the Midlands which has seen toll prices increase by 175% since it was opened. Another reason why this option was dropped was because of evidence gained from the operation of the M6 toll road - which had never made any money because motorists can avoid it by using nearby non tolled motorways.  That M6 tolled Motorway has seen the number of users drop and it has done nothing to reduce congestion.

It is simply unacceptable for motorists to end up paying tolls on the Severn bridges, on the existing M4 any potential new relief road.  There are already significant complaints about the cost of the tolls on the Severn bridges and an additional burden on motorists and businesses can no way be justified.  A far more realistic financially viable longer term fix to the problem of the exiting M4 would be to upgrade the Southern Distributor Road – something that would offer a realistic more easily accessible alternative route in the event of any future M4 blocking accidents.

This solution would not only provide an alternative route to the M4 in the event of periodic accident related closures and congestion but would provide much better value for money coming in at around £300 million. If you are going to spend what is in effect public money then the bottom line is that you need to work it hard and maximise every benefit and every gain for the tax payers who will end up paying for it one way or another. With more powers come greater responsibilities  and with them both should come greater public accountability and transparency on the part of government when it comes to financial choices . 

STILL WAITING FOR CARWYN AND GEORGE

The Labour in Wales run Welsh Government has now promised an update on its stance on the M4 Relief Road by mid-July – so much for the previous promise f a decision by the end of last year or early this year. None of this brings the slightest crumb of comfort, peace of mind or clarity to the residents of Brynglas (in Shaftesbury ward in Newport) whose homes may yet still be threatened by a new tunnel.

They have been left in the lurch as they are now going to have to wait until mid July before they hear about the fate of their homes. Until the Welsh Government announces its conclusions from what was a significantly flawed consultation exercise on the M4 which looked at a number of options, including improving the existing M4, a variety of upgrades to the Southern Distributor Road (SDR), the construction of a new tunnel and a new M4 relief road across the Gwent levels south of Newport – people continue to live in limbo.

We are still well short of the white smoke from either Westminster or Cardiff Bay as no agreement between the Con Dem Government and Welsh Government on how any relief road (George Osborne’s’ favoured option) would be funded has been reached. What has been quietly overlooked in relation to the on-going problems with the M4 and some of the larger options for dealing with the traffic congestion on the existing M4 is the problem of the funding model.

Amongst the reasons why the option of the M4 relief road (South of Newport) was dropped a few years ago; aside for the financial cost (around £1 billion pounds) and environmental impact was the key issue of the funding model. Ministers were advised that not only would the new relief road to be subjected to tolls, but the existing M4 would also be tolled.  Interestingly enough the only other toll road in the UK is the M6 in the Midlands which has seen toll prices increase by 175% since it was opened.

Another one of the reasons why this option was dropped was because of evidence gained from the operation of the M6 toll road - which had never made any money because motorists can avoid it by using nearby non tolled motorways.  That tolled Motorway has seen the number of users drop and it has done nothing to reduce congestion.

It is simply unacceptable for motorists to end up paying tolls on the Severn bridges, on the existing M4 any potential new relief road.  There are already significant complaints about the cost of the tolls on the Severn bridges and an additional burden on motorists and businesses can no way be justified. This is why Plaid Ministers in the then One Wales Government took  officials’ advice not to proceed go ahead with the relief road but opted to work to ease congestion around Newport by using the southern distribution road (SDR) as an alternative route.

What, in the seriously flawed consultation process, was Option C which would involve the grade separation of some junctions and partial or full closure of other junctions on the Newport A48 Southern Distributor Road was the most sensible option if combined with improvements to the existing M4.  This option would not only provide an alternative route to the M4 in the event of periodic accident related closures and congestion but would provide much better value for money coming in at around £300m. Incidentally the option D which included a new tunnel and widening of the M4 was priced at around £500 million.

At the moment the Labour in Wales Government and the Con Dem Westminster Government appear to be in favour of the most expensive (financially and environmentally) option – their only quarrel appears to be how it will be funded and whether or not it will be tolled. My own personal theory is that one of the reasons why Government at various levels favour the more expensive options may have something to do with the ongoing (and pretty profitable) if questionable relationship between Government and the Construction industry. 

A NEW NATIONAL TRANSPORT PLAN

The Plaid driven One Wales Government’s new national transport plan which will bring sustainable benefit to current residents of Wales but also many generations yet to come, is a step towards a sustainable transport policy. We should welcome the decision to make effective use of public funding, and economic and environmental needs when forming the new national plan, which includes measures to improve the use of the transport infrastructure around the Newport area in order to alleviate congestion on the M4.

Many people have long argued that the proposed M4 relief road over the Gwent levels was never going to be a sensible or sustainable option on both environmental and financial grounds. The project would have caused irreversible environmental damage and substantially increase carbon dioxide emissions.

On financial grounds, the projected cost of the scheme had soared to an estimated £1billion. Funding a billion pound project, at a time when our government is being told its budget will be cut by both of the parties which could form the next government in Westminster, would been an impossible undertaking.

The National Transport Plan is a vital step towards developing our national transport infrastructure in a sensible, sustainable and costed way , which actually takes the cost for future generations into account. It is important that environmental considerations not be sacrificed for short term gain. Careful consideration needs to be given to the fact that we don’t want to burden future generations with projects that can’t be afforded and will fail to deliver any real medium or long term benefits.

Public transport in Wales is in dire need of further investment, so news that some more funding will be going into sustainable transport is excellent news. The Assembly’s Sustainability Committee in 2007 noted that less than one-third of transport funding was being spent on sustainable and public transport in Wales, which compared with 70 per cent in Scotland.

The decision’s made today to spend more money on rail and other forms of sustainable transport will help to redress that imbalance. This is a well thought out balanced plan, not only in environmental and economic terms, but also in terms of the needs of people and business throughout the whole of Wales.