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Tag: 2021

  • Grant Shapps – 2021 Comments on Training HGV Drivers

    Grant Shapps – 2021 Comments on Training HGV Drivers

    The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 10 December 2021.

    The government has worked tirelessly to tackle the driver shortage caused by coronavirus and years of undervalued wages. We have now introduced 32 actions to help get more HGV drivers on the road. It is good to see that these measures are clearly working, with the haulage industry reporting a significant increase in tests carried out and licenses issued. Now these training camps will provide a further boost for the sector as we work together towards its recovery.

  • Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on Training HGV Drivers

    Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on Training HGV Drivers

    The comments made by Nadhim Zahawi, the Secretary of State for Education, on 10 December 2021.

    HGV drivers are vital to keeping this country moving. It’s brilliant to see the first people with their hands on the steering wheel as they head towards new well-paid careers in the industry.

    To help even more people get the training they need to be road ready, we’re expanding our HGV Skills Bootcamps to support more than 11,000 people to gain the skills they need to progress in the industry, and to help those with previous experience refresh their skills so they can get back on the road.

  • Rishi Sunak – 2021 Comments on Levelling Up

    Rishi Sunak – 2021 Comments on Levelling Up

    The comments made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at Shildon Railway Museum on 9 December 2021.

    We are absolutely committed to levelling up opportunities across the whole of the UK so people have good jobs and greater opportunities.

    It’s fantastic to see how our £20 million investment will enhance this popular tourist attraction. This will boost access for rural communities so they can enjoy the area’s rich railway heritage and connect people to key transport links nearby.

  • Stephen Morgan – 2021 Comments on Ventilation in Schools

    Stephen Morgan – 2021 Comments on Ventilation in Schools

    The comments made by Stephen Morgan, the Shadow Schools Minister, on 9 December 2021.

    It is outrageous that because of the Government’s incompetence schools are being left with no option but to open windows as temperatures plummet and heating bills rise just to get adequate ventilation. Schools and local authorities are working incredibly hard to support children, but the government is again treating them as an afterthought.

    The Government should have had a proper plan in place to stop a third year of Covid disruption to education but their chaotic, last-minute approach is leaving children bearing the brunt of the pandemic once again.

    It is already cold. In a month’s time it will be colder. Ministers must get ahead of this virus now and put in place the ventilation systems which Labour, teachers and parents have been calling for many months. Schools are having to spend money on energy bills which they should be spending on our children.

  • Angela Rayner – 2021 Letter to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards on Downing Street Flat

    Angela Rayner – 2021 Letter to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards on Downing Street Flat

    The letter sent by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, to Kathryn Stone, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, on 10 December 2021.

    Dear Kathryn Stone,

    I write regarding today’s finding by the Electoral Commission that the Conservative Party broke the law by failing to properly declare donations towards the refurbishment of the Prime Minister’s flat in Downing Street.

    In our previous correspondence, you confirmed that you would wait for the result of the Electoral Commission’s investigation before taking any further action. Given the Commission’s finding of a clear breach of the law, I write to request an immediate investigation into the conduct of the Prime Minister in this scandal.

    Today’s report demonstrates that the Prime Minister has failed to declare donations which appears to put him in clear breach of the Members’ Code of Conduct as well as the Conservative Party having breached its own legal obligations.

    I am concerned, although not entirely surprised, by the Prime Minister’s additional failure to properly disclose these donations towards the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat in his declaration of Ministerial interests.

    Revelations in the Electoral Commission’s report call into question the conduct of the Prime Minister in relation to the Ministerial Code. It is clear that the Prime Minister misled the public, along with the independent adviser, when he told Lord Geidt during his investigation that he was unaware of the Lord Brownlow donations until February 2021. Today’s investigation report reveals that the Prime Minister messaged Lord Brownlow via WhatsApp on 29 November 2020, asking him to authorise more money towards the refurbishment works on the residence. This shows that the Prime Minister is in flagrant breach of both the Members’ Code of Conduct and the Ministerial Code.

    The Ministerial Code clearly states: ‘Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public’. This has not happened.

    The Members’ Code of Conduct incorporates the seven ‘Nolan Principles’ for standards of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. With these principles in mind, I hope you will undertake an investigation to determine whether the Prime Minister did in fact breach the Members’ Code of Conduct in this case.

    Yours sincerely,

    Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP
    Deputy Leader of HM Opposition
    Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

  • Jacob Young – 2021 Speech on the Integrated Rail Plan

    Jacob Young – 2021 Speech on the Integrated Rail Plan

    The speech made by Jacob Young, the Conservative MP for Redcar, in the House of Commons on 18 December 2021.

    The Tees Valley has a proud history as the home of our nation’s railway. Starting with George Stephenson’s revolutionary launch of the Stockton to Darlington railway in 1825, our region has been a pioneer in the development of Britain’s rail sector, from steel forged in the furnaces of Redcar for the construction of the London underground to the production of new trains at Hitachi in Newton Aycliffe.

    Recent announcements show our commitment to levelling up rail in Teesside. From next year, TransPennine Express services will be extended from Redcar Central to Saltburn, something I have been campaigning on for well over two years. As of next week, LNER will launch a direct service from Middlesbrough to London Kings Cross—a fantastic step, but we need more than just one a day. And the £l00 million redevelopment of Darlington train station creates new platforms, a new station building and the potential for more frequent services on the local network.

    The Tees Valley is also playing a huge role in the development of the wider national network, and a key way we can strengthen this role is by committing to using British-made steel from Teesside. HS2 is one of this Government’s biggest infrastructure projects but it has yet to commit to signing the UK steel charter. It is a false economy to continue to bail out our steel industry and not secure its pipeline through procurement rules in the UK. Using UK-sourced steel in the construction of HS2 will help us to secure the future of this vital national industry and support over 1,000 jobs in Redcar alone.

    This IRP delivers for the north, but there is more work to do. The Minister will know that I am pushing for the east coast main line to extend its services not just to Middlesbrough but to Redcar to complement our new freeport. Along with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, I am supporting the return of passenger services to east Cleveland on the Boulby potash line, if we are able to achieve it. But as we rightly increase services on the Redcar line, such as the TransPennine service to Saltburn, we run the risk of cutting Redcar in half, virtually blockading our level crossings in the town centre. There is no doubt that resolving this roadblock to growth in Redcar will require significant funding, and there is no obvious solution right now, but I seek assurances from the Minister that Redcar town will not be cut off as we grow our network, and that we will seek to minimise the length of time the crossings are down. This is a Government committed to levelling up and transforming Teesside for the better. Thanks to this Government and our Conservative team across our region, we have never been better connected by rail, road and air. Long may it continue.

  • Toby Perkins – 2021 Speech on the Integrated Rail Plan

    Toby Perkins – 2021 Speech on the Integrated Rail Plan

    The speech made by Toby Perkins, the Labour MP for Chesterfield, in the House of Commons on 8 December 2021.

    Conservative Governments have made me angry before. Indeed, it was the Thatcher Government who first awoke my passion for politics, because I wanted to stand against everything that they stood for, but at least the Thatcher Government were competent. What we have now is a Government who are so incompetent, so inept, so irresponsible and so dishonest that they constantly let down the people who voted for them, and that is what we see in this plan for integrated rail.

    We need only look at the manifesto promises that we have had from the Tory Government—all the way back to 2010, when I was first elected and the hon. Member for Ashfield was working for a Labour MP—to see what the Tories have been all about. Throughout that time, we have seen manifestos promising that HS2 would be delivered. We saw those promises in 2010 and we saw them in 2015, and the Tories were also promising to electrify the midland main line in 2017. In 2019 they promised that they would listen to the Oakervee review, a detailed review of HS2, the costs of which were escalating because of the constant delays and ineptitude of this Government in implementing it.

    For 11 years HS2 has been Tory party policy, but throughout that period they have managed the policy so ineptly that the costs have continually escalated, and public confidence has not been there. Now they are asking how we can support policies that they spent four general elections and 11 years telling us were the right policies. They stand there and say that this is a major investment, but every major investment in rail that they have announced in the 11 years for which I have been here has never been delivered. They have stood there and announced midland main line electrification, and they have never delivered it. They have stood there and announced HS2, and they have never delivered it. So why on earth should anyone believe that the plan that is on that desk, which will take many years and future Parliaments to be delivered, will ever happen?

    The people of Chesterfield have been lied to, and people across the midlands and the north have been lied to, in order to get this shabby Government elected. It is no wonder that people throughout my constituency are finally starting to see what this Government really stand for. It makes me sick, Mr Deputy Speaker.

  • Matt Rodda – 2021 Speech on the Integrated Rail Plan

    Matt Rodda – 2021 Speech on the Integrated Rail Plan

    The speech made by Matt Rodda, the Labour MP for Reading East, in the House of Commons on 8 December 2021.

    It is a pleasure to speak in this important debate. I start by offering my wholehearted support to the shadow Transport Secretary, who has made an excellent contribution this afternoon, as have many other hon. Members across the House.

    I feel deeply sorry for many communities across the midlands and the north of England, because they have clearly been badly let down by the Government. I know the rail Minister is a decent, hardworking Minister, and I am sure even he is disappointed with this rather thin offering—the way Nottinghamshire has been let down, the way the north-west of England has been let down, the way Bradford and Sheffield have been let down. They have all been badly let down by the Government, I am afraid, and indeed colleagues in London are about to be severely let down with the looming crisis in Transport for London, where the Government are clearly unable to do the decent thing and provide the right level of support to vital transport infrastructure in the capital.

    All those things bode very badly for our country at a time when we need more investment and more economic growth. High-speed rail is clearly a driver of significant economic growth and regeneration for major cities and smaller towns, such as my Reading constituency, and offers huge advantages to communities across the country.

    I draw the Minister’s attention to a number of points in my own area. In particular, I call for greater Government focus on electrification of the Great Western line to the west of Reading; at present the electric line stops at Newbury, which is clearly not far enough to the west. Indeed, the far south-west is not served by adequate rail infrastructure at this time. The electric line also stops in Cardiff, Wales, and Welsh colleagues have mentioned the serious flaws with that lack of investment in their country.

    In addition, the north-south line that connects the south coast of England with the midlands and ultimately Manchester should be a priority for electrification. It is currently a narrow rail corridor with only one line going north and one going south. There are real issues there, but electrification offers greater efficiency, lighter rolling stock, much faster speeds on the railway and a more efficient railway all round. It requires more up-front investment, but it pays back great dividends in future. Many colleagues from Coventry and other midlands cities have mentioned that to me.

    I realise time is limited, but I also draw the Minister’s attention to a number of other issues, particularly Reading Green Park station in the neighbouring seat of Reading West, which also serves my constituents who commute to work in the science park at Green Park on the west of Reading. We also need investment in other stations across Berkshire. I draw his attention to the need for the Western Rail Link, another crucial piece of rail infrastructure in the Thames valley that offers wider benefits to people from across the country. I appreciate that he is interested in the project, and I urge him to speak to local councils, myself and other MPs such as the shadow rail Minister on that point.

  • Cat Smith – 2021 Speech on the Integrated Rail Plan

    Cat Smith – 2021 Speech on the Integrated Rail Plan

    The speech made by Cat Smith, the Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, in the House of Commons on 8 December 2021.

    It is a pleasure to speak in this debate on the disintegrated rail plan. I associate myself with the comments made by the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron); I agree wholeheartedly with his points about rail connectivity outside the Liverpool-Manchester-Leeds corridor, and across Lancashire and Cumbria. It so often feels as though that part of the north is forgotten about. Just because we do not have big cities, it does not mean that we do not have jobs and industry, and a need for connectivity. Indeed, we have some very good projects that lend themselves to reasonably cheap electrification, which would help lower the carbon footprint of our public transport system.

    I will keep my remarks tightly focused on lines affected in my constituency. I must be clear: if HS2 ever gets as far north as us in Lancashire and Cumbria, which seems like something of a long shot, we cannot have trains not stopping in Lancaster. It is the county town of Lancashire. We have world-class universities and industries that need rail connectivity to the capital, and we need that investment. We cannot keep talking about rail connectivity as meaning getting to London faster. We must also talk about investing in the north and in our communities.

    I want to talk about Fleetwood, a town without a railway station, though it has been promised one. In November 2019, the Prime Minister came to Poulton-le-Fylde—and later got it muddled up with Bolton, but we will move on from that. He promised us that its rail line would be reconnected. We are still waiting. We have had £100 million for a plan, but so far, there is no indication that the line will materialise. I encourage the Minister of State, Department for Transport, the hon. Member for Pendle (Andrew Stephenson), who is on the Front Bench —a Lancashire guy—to look favourably on Fleetwood, and to work with us and the local community to make that rail line happen.

    I finish with some words from my constituents, because all too often the real impact is on constituents’ lives. Mark Waites asks, “Where’s the railway?” That is probably the No. 1 question that I am asked as a local MP—where is our railway in Fleetwood? The track bed is there, but there are no trains running up and down it. Jack Harrison offered me a festive quote to share in the debate:

    “Now all we want for Christmas, is our trains back;

    And no more empty election yackity yack.”

    That sums up the feeling across Fleetwood, and right across the Fylde coast, about the promises that the Government have made, but not delivered on. We have been promised that railway back.

    “Now that the Prime Minister knows where Fleetwood is, will he finally say when the railway connection will be reinstated to Poulton and the rest of the country?”

    That is a quote from my constituent Tony Johnson. I urge the Minister to look favourably at Lancashire and Cumbria, and to offer us the rail connection that we have been promised.

  • Ruth Edwards – 2021 Speech on the Integrated Rail Plan

    Ruth Edwards – 2021 Speech on the Integrated Rail Plan

    The speech made by Ruth Edwards, the Conservative MP for Rushcliffe, in the House of Commons on 8 December 2021.

    I feel privileged to speak in this debate, not simply because this fantastic £96 billion investment in rail is transformational for huge swathes of our country, and not just because we have sped up existing plans by around 15 years to bring real benefits to places such as my constituency of Rushcliffe. No—I feel particularly privileged because this debate gives us the chance to examine the habits and the utterances of that rare species, the Starma chameleon.

    For years, the Leader of the Opposition has manned the barricades in opposition to HS2. He said that he opposes HS2

    “on cost and on merit: it will not achieve its stated objectives.”—[Official Report, 15 September 2015; Vol. 599, c. 1006.]

    He called its impact devastating and said it would cause “wholly unacceptable damage”. However, all of a sudden, the Government have not gone far enough. Suddenly he believes that the plans are

    “a second-class option for the North”

    and the midlands. If the Leader of the Opposition had had his way, the people of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Birmingham and Sheffield would not have had high-speed rail at all, but perhaps it only matters when it is in his own backyard—hardly prime ministerial.

    The integrated rail plan delivered on a commitment to level up regional connectivity by electrifying the midland main line, and electrification work is set to begin in the next phase, before Christmas. These improvements will be welcomed by my constituents, who, because of the plan, will find it a lot easier to commute and undertake other travel by train. Indeed, in my inbox, praise for this plan far outweighs criticism. As the Secretary of State and my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley (Robbie Moore) have said—in fact, as has been said repeatedly—the last Labour Government electrified 63 miles of track in 13 years. An ordinary British garden snail moving at a top speed of 0.048 kph would have made more progress.

    Colleagues may be surprised to hear that the Leader of the Opposition and I have something in common: we both represent constituencies containing planned HS2 stations, the only difference being that I did not petition against this massive upgrade to, and investment in, rail in my constituency. The integrated rail plan will deliver HS2 faster. It will slash train journey times between London and Nottingham by two thirds, and the journey time from Nottingham to Birmingham to only 26 minutes, which is half an hour faster than envisaged under previous plans. It will deliver HS2 right into the heart of the East Midlands freeport, where we are making a green jobs hub that will create over 60,000 jobs in the region.