{"id":64983,"date":"2015-12-03T23:45:09","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T23:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=818553ba34350c00691fbdd2f8b6c376"},"modified":"2015-12-03T23:45:09","modified_gmt":"2015-12-03T23:45:09","slug":"speech-investing-in-welsh-transport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=64983","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Investing in Welsh transport"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an honour to be here this evening.<\/p>\n

To speak in this magnificent building.<\/p>\n

And alongside Carolyn Fairbairn, in her new role as the CBI\u2019s Director-General, and at her first big event outside London.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s traditional at this point for politicians to point out their Welsh heritage. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m afraid I\u2019m no different\u2026.<\/p>\n

After I left school I spent a year in Wrexham training to be a Chef. <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a great success\u2026<\/p>\n

Judging by tonight\u2019s delights the quality of Wales\u2019 food went up after I left. <\/p>\n

In fact anyone visiting Wales would say things are on the up. <\/p>\n

Cardiff has been deemed the best UK city in which to live.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s a great sense of optimism about the whole country, too.<\/p>\n

A sense of expectation about the future.<\/p>\n

The challenges we faced<\/h2>\n

But it wasn\u2019t always that way<\/p>\n

Cast your mind back to 2010<\/p>\n

[Political content removed]<\/p>\n

Over 83,000 people in Wales were looking for work.<\/p>\n

We knew we had to act.<\/p>\n

So we took some difficult decisions.<\/p>\n

We cut spending<\/p>\n

Corporation tax.<\/p>\n

Red tape.<\/p>\n

We gave encouragement to the private sector.<\/p>\n

And the result is clear.<\/p>\n

Twenty two thousand more firms in Wales than there was in 2010.<\/p>\n

90,000 jobs have been created.<\/p>\n

Almost half of those in the last year alone.<\/p>\n

Wales is creating jobs faster than almost any other part of the UK.<\/p>\n

Business and government have worked together to make it happen. <\/p>\n

And in Stephen Crabb, who is here tonight, you have a great advocate for Wales. <\/p>\n

[Political content removed]<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been working across the party divides.<\/p>\n

And what Wales achieved in last week\u2019s spending review was fantastic. <\/p>\n

It means that, during this Parliament, Wales will see a \u00a3900 million increase in capital funding.<\/p>\n

A boost of over 16% in real terms.<\/p>\n

And a huge opportunity on tax powers. <\/p>\n

I share Stephen\u2019s optimism about Wales\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Yet I also share a sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n

Because now we must deliver for Wales.<\/p>\n

Wales needs better transport<\/h2>\n

For me, that means better transport.<\/p>\n

This city is proof of the link between transport and economic growth.<\/p>\n

Cardiff\u2019s canals, railways and docks made South Wales the world\u2019s first industrialised region.<\/p>\n

Today, Cardiff\u2019s booming services sector couldn\u2019t function without the 40% of Cardiff\u2019s workforce who use transport to commute to the city each day, and a transport system that brings rugby fans to the Millennium Stadium, opera-lovers to the Wales Millennium Centre and diners to the city\u2019s restaurants.<\/p>\n

But even Cardiff is testament to the fact that in recent decades, successive governments have failed to invest properly in transport.<\/p>\n

Most of our railways date back to the Victorian age.<\/p>\n

And our motorway network dates back to the 1960s.<\/p>\n

The consequences are clear.<\/p>\n

In the south, it means daily traffic jams on the M4 and a Valleys Rail Network in urgent need of improvement.<\/p>\n

In the North, anyone who wants to get the train from Bangor to London faces a journey of well over three hours.<\/p>\n

The great shame is that transport provides massive opportunity. <\/p>\n

It gets people to work or education.<\/p>\n

And allows businesses to reach new markets.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re getting there<\/h2>\n

We understand that opportunity.<\/p>\n

So before the election we put infrastructure at the top of our manifesto.<\/p>\n

And now, in government, we\u2019re backing that commitment with \u00a370 billion pounds to transform travel in Wales and the UK.<\/p>\n

It starts with electrifying the Great Western Main Line right through to Swansea; the greatest upgrade of the line since Brunel built it.<\/p>\n

You think this type of work is pretty straightforward, easy to plan and then will come in under budget.<\/p>\n

And then you wake up. <\/p>\n

Look, it was never going to be easy.<\/p>\n

But we will get the job done.<\/p>\n

I used the line this early this morning, riding up front with the driver. <\/p>\n

I could see, whizzing past on either side, freshly driven piles which will carry the electric cables overhead.<\/p>\n

Bridges being prepared for raising.<\/p>\n

And Network Rail\u2019s orange army, some starting a day of work, others clocking off after a long night shift.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough work, but it is happening. <\/p>\n

And when it\u2019s finished, it will cut 20 minutes off the journey to Paddington and offer passengers far greater reliability and comfort.<\/p>\n

Successive governments should have done it years ago.<\/p>\n

But it falls to us.<\/p>\n

And we will get it done.<\/p>\n

HS2<\/h2>\n

The next big opportunity is HS2 <\/p>\n

Now, there are those who say the only thing that matters is Barnett Consequentials, one-up-man-ship and squabbles over money. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s about so much more than that. <\/p>\n

HS2 is an opportunity for the whole country. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just a new line but a new high speed, high capacity network linking 8 of Britain\u2019s 10 biggest cities.<\/p>\n

We wanted to see the benefits for North Wales to come as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

So, on Monday, we announced that we will build the line to Crewe six years early.<\/p>\n

From 2027, it will transform travel to and from North Wales.<\/p>\n

Allowing passengers from North Wales to board HS2 at Crewe and travel to London in just 55 minutes, compared with today\u2019s 90 minutes.<\/p>\n

Benefits to businesses<\/h2>\n

That is the future.<\/p>\n

But the benefits of HS2 can be felt right now. <\/p>\n

Transport spending is an investment in Britain\u2019s businesses.<\/p>\n

An investment in skills and capacity for the future right along the supply chain.<\/p>\n

Welsh businesses are already leading the way.<\/p>\n

Celsa UK, based in Cardiff, has supplied over 50,000 tonnes of steel for London\u2019s Crossrail project.<\/p>\n

And the Airbus factory at Broughton makes wings for half the world\u2019s commercial aircraft.<\/p>\n

Now, we are in the process of letting the contracts for HS2.<\/p>\n

Some of the largest contracts in construction history.<\/p>\n

Generating tens of thousands of opportunities, sixty percent of which we expect to award to small- and medium-sized firms.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the summer, HS2 Ltd visited Wales to engage businesses interested in working on HS2.<\/p>\n

They met firms large and small, supplying everything from steel to surveyors, engineers to environment experts.<\/p>\n

HS2 is a great opportunity for Welsh businesses and it will generate work for years to come.<\/p>\n

The procurement process has only just started, so we want to keep hearing from firms in Wales.<\/p>\n

Building the future together<\/h2>\n

Because building these projects requires collaboration with business and with devolved administrations. <\/p>\n

To electrify the Valley Lines and modernise the commuter network into Cardiff we are working with the Welsh Government, and providing \u00a3125 million with which to do it.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re supporting the Welsh Government\u2019s ambition to upgrade the M4 around Newport.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been debated for a quarter of a century and the people of Wales need it.<\/p>\n

We are plugging North Wales into the Northern Powerhouse so it can work with Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds to improve connections and grow. <\/p>\n

We are working to devolve the Wales and Borders rail franchise to bring control of the line\u2019s services much closer to those who use them.<\/p>\n

We are getting on with re-signalling the North Wales Main Line to make it more reliable. <\/p>\n

And we are working with businesses and communities to build the case for improvements in the future; we have kick-started a task-force of local authorities, local businesses and the Welsh Government to build the case for further rail modernisation in North Wales.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

So there\u2019s a huge amount to look forward to.<\/p>\n

[Political content removed]<\/p>\n

Wales is right to be optimistic.<\/p>\n

With Stephen Crabb as Secretary of State, Welsh transport is finally getting the attention it\u2019s needed for generations.<\/p>\n

Investment on this scale is never easy.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t always go to plan.<\/p>\n

But we want Welsh business to succeed.<\/p>\n

And for Wales to thrive.<\/p>\n

So you\u2019ve got this government\u2019s commitment.<\/p>\n

We will get the job done.<\/p>\n

We will build a new transport legacy for Wales.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we invest billions in transport, Welsh businesses are already benefiting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64983"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64983\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}