THE news that five cities in the north of England have called for a £15 billon pound 15-year plan to be adopted to improve transport should not surprise anyone. The One North report has called for a 125mph trans-Pennine rail link, a faster link to Newcastle and better access to Manchester Airport. The alliance of five cities (Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield) call has George Osborne¹s backing – he has pledged support to the Crossrail of the North. The proposals are yet another all-England infrastructure project to add to the HS2 rail project, the London Crossrail project and the proposed Crossrail extension to Hertfordshire. Now don¹t get me wrong much of this infrastructure is necessary and very much overdue. However, I do wonder if Westminster is on some subliminal level contemplating the end of the Union and is concentrating resources in England, or is this merely a case of for the UK see England.

Jonathan T Clark Plaid Cymru Parliamentary Candidate for Monmouth Constituency