Luke Pollard MP Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
- Ministers announce £600m for rail schemes in the north of England but nothing for the south west
Commenting on the announcement that the Government is pouring £600m into rail projects in the north of England, Luke Pollard MP said:
“Yet again the south west has been overlooked when it comes to urgent rail investment. Extra funding is good news for the north but why does the far south west not get a look in? The south west should not get more funding than any other region but we should get our fair share. When we get so little compared to other regions, it is worth asking why we have been ignored again by Tory Ministers?
“I want to see full and final funding for the rail resilience upgrades at Dawlish, electrification of the track between Plymouth and Totnes to cut journey times and reduce emissions and the railway line reopened to Tavistock.
“Ministers need to be careful chasing votes in the north by neglecting communities in the south west. It is time for us to get our fair share of transport spending.”
The South West had the third lowest transport spending per head in the 2018-19 financial year, according the figures from IPPR North and HM Treasury.
The South West had £308 per head spent in 2018-19, in comparison to £903 per head in London, £486 in the North East and £412 in the North West.