Conservatives Axe Swansea Rail

The Conservatives have broken their promise to Wales by reversing plans to match Labour's plan to invest £1.1billion in the electrification of the Swansea London line by 2017.

On 16 th April David Cameron launched the Conservative Manifesto for Wales (BBC link here). He described the manifesto as a "hand grenade" which "would blast away the old belief that the elite should hold all the power and make all the decisions".

The Tory manifesto pledges includes supporting the electrification of the First Great Western rail line to south Wales and a commitment to develop a high-speed rail link to Wales.

But now the Conservatives have broken their promise to Wales.

Said Labour's Swansea West MP Geraint Davies "This is a kick in the teeth for inward investment for Swansea. Our city has nearly 40% of jobs in the public sector so we need to support private sector jobs by developing a modern local economy on a low carbon footprint. The Tory Lib Dem alliance is both cutting public sector jobs and undermining private sector investment which is a disaster for Swansea."

 "This just shows what the word of a Tory is worth. They were prepared to say anything to get elected, and this week all we have seen is broken promise after broken promise. Electrification of the Swansea - London line is vital for our local economy and I will be fighting hard to ensure that Labour's original proposals do go ahead."