UK Government's pledge to upgrade A55 motorway in north Wales questioned by former Conservative MP
A former Conservative MP said a UK Government reply to him has cast doubt on a key election pledge for Wales to upgrade the A55.
Delyn MP Rob Roberts, who now sits as an independent member, used an appearance in the Commons to question whether or not that pledge was no longer UK Government policy.
In its 2019 General Election manifesto, the Conservative party pledged to upgrade both the M4 in the south and the A55 in the north.
It was controversial at the time, with criticism directed at senior party figures for promising projects which couldn’t be directly delivered as a result of a Westminster election, because road-buildng in Wales is devolved - and so the responsibility of the Welsh Government not the UK Government.
However, even in 2021 the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson stood by the commitment.
In an interview at the Conservative party conference he told me, “We're looking at a number of projects for the Union connectivity review, including the M4, including the north Wales corridor, the A55 and all those and you'll be hearing more from Sir Peter Hendy, and his team in due course.”
When the Hendy review was published in November 2021 it simply urged the UK Government to “work with the Welsh Government to undertake a multimodal review of the North Wales transport corridor, and develop a package of improvements focused on the North Wales Main Line (including better connectivity with HS2, and electrification), the A55, the M53, M56, and onward travel to and from the island of Ireland.”
Now the issue has been raised as a point of order in the Commons by Delyn MP Rob Roberts who sits as an independent MP after losing the Conservative whip after being found to have breached Parliament's sexual misconduct policy.
In the chamber he said that he had asked the UK Government’s Roads Minister about the pledge, “by writing to him to ask about road connectivity in Wales, referring him to page 47 of the manifesto upon which both he and I stood, which said:
“‘To support our Union, we will upgrade the A55 as the main road transport artery for North Wales.’
“I requested a meeting and also asked what discussions he had had with the Welsh Government about the promised A55 upgrades. I was surprised to get a brief email from an official saying my letter had been sent to the Welsh Government instead as the issues fell within their responsibilities.
He added that “These are serious matters that impact my constituents every day. They will be disappointed to discover not only that the Government intend not to follow through with that manifesto commitment, but that it never should have been made in the first place, as central Government have no responsibility for roads in Wales.
“What can I do not only to get an answer to my original question, but to have the Minister come to the Chamber to confirm that the commitment to upgrade the A55 made in the 2019 manifesto is no longer Government policy, and in fact, never was?”
As it was a point of order, the Commons response came from the Deputy Speaker, Dame Rosie Winterton who said that, “I hope he will appreciate that the content of answers to parliamentary questions or correspondence is the responsibility of the Minister concerned.”
She added that “I suggest that he seeks the advice of the Table Office as to whether there are other ways in which the matter might be clarified, and again, I am sure that those on the Treasury Bench will report back his concerns to the relevant Minister.”
The UK Government has been approached for a response.