PRESS RELEASE : Labour transport minister takes six weeks to visit closed Menai Bridge [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 25 November 2022.

The Labour Government has taken six weeks to send a ministerial representative to the Menai Bridge since it was forced to close in October.

Lee Waters, Deputy Minister for Climate Change, will visit the bridge that links Anglesey to mainland Britain on 30th November after it was shut down for essential maintenance work.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Transport Minister Natasha Asghar MS said:

“Lee Waters is so obsessed with punishing motorists with his default 20mph speed limits, congestion charges, and the roadbuilding freeze, it hardly surprises me that it has taken him so long to pay residents affected by the Bridge’s closure a visit.

“But it isn’t just motorists that are affected by Waters’ laziness – the failure to maintain the bridge over time will have a huge impact on businesses who miss out on crucial trade, see deliveries delayed, and employees stuck in traffic.

“Work on the bridge should not have been left to get worse over time and the Labour Government needs to be far more regular with maintenance of the bridge when the reasons behind the closure are resolved.

Conservative Ynys Môn MP Virginia Crosbie added:

“The Menai closure is not only impacting Ynys Môn but all of North Wales, especially considering the impact this will be having on the haulage industry with Holyhead being a major shipping port.

“Sadly, I am not surprised that a Labour minister in Cardiff Bay has taken so long to visit because we see so little from them when it comes to helping North Wales. Indeed, Labour’s neglect of our part of Wales is why we’re in this position in the first place.

“I hope this will now change and we can get the bridge open and Ynys Môn moving again.”