The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Home Secretary, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.
It’s a tremendous privilege to be leading the Home Office in its task of protecting the British people. Government goes on, despite the current political upheavals, and I will remain fully focused on the job as we select the next PM.
The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield, on Twitter on 9 October 2022.
Great appointment. No one is more experienced and knowledgeable than Greg Hands on Trade. A welcome addition back to Liz Truss Government.
The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield, on Twitter on 3 October 2022.
Strongly welcome today’s 45p tax reversal. Sensible & pragmatic.
Conservatives want lower tax, but let’s show our energy price cap + other policies are on side of consumers rather than borrowing to cut high earner taxes first.
Chx backs down on 45p tax.
The tribute made by Grant Shapps, the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield, in the House of Commons on 10 September 2022.
Like many in this House, I had the opportunity to meet and speak to the Queen on numerous occasions, but unfortunately the relationship did not start particularly auspiciously. I was invited to Buckingham Palace for what, as other Members will know, is an ancient, complex process of becoming a Privy Councillor. It was so complicated that I was called to a side room with five colleagues to have the process explained. We were told, “You will enter a large hall in Buckingham Palace, where Her Majesty will stand at one end. You will kneel on the red cushions, which go back some distance, on your right knees, holding a Bible in your right hand. You will switch that to your left hand, then take the Sovereign’s hand with your right hand and brush her hand, then stand and say, ‘Your Majesty.’”. I thought, “Brush her hand? Was that an instruction to brush her hand with my hand? With my sleeve? Or with a handkerchief?” As I was about to ask, we were called into the performance of the great ceremony itself. I thought, “No matter, I am fifth in the line to become a Privy Councillor, so I will watch my colleagues.”
My colleagues were all swearing on the New Testament, but as I am Jewish I was swearing on the Old Testament. I was at the back of the line and I thought that I would watch what was happening. Unfortunately, as we went into this large hallway, I found that it was so long that I could not see what was happening in the ceremony at the front. As I got closer, the field of view narrowed and the girth of my colleague in front of me widened, and I still could not see what brushing the hand actually entailed. With palpitations, I nervously knelt in front of Her Majesty the Queen, on the red cushion right before her. I switched the Bible, the Pentateuch, from my right to my left hand, and stretched out my right hand. She stretched out her bare, ungloved right hand and, to my surprise, moved it towards my face. It moved towards my lips. I pursed my lips. And it stuck! For what felt like an age she tried to pull it away and then, suddenly, “pop!”, her hand pulled away. I wanted the ground beneath me in Buckingham Palace to swallow me whole, but I remembered to stand up. “Your Majesty,” I quavered. She looked me right in the eyes with those wonderful sparkling eyes, as if both to acknowledge what had happened and also to forgive me in one turn. She said, “Ye…es!”. Mr Speaker, we never spoke of it again. God save the King.
The statement made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, in the House of Commons on 5 September 2022.
Following my statement to the House on 13 July (2022), I am writing to update the House that today we have agreed a new longer-term funding settlement between Transport for London (TfL) and government. The final extraordinary funding settlement expired on 3 August and I have agreed with the Mayor of London a new settlement until 31 March 2024 or until Transport for London reaches financial sustainability, whichever is the sooner.
This longer-term settlement includes over £1.1 billion (bn) of additional grant funding until March 2024 for London transport, which will unlock almost £3.6bn worth of critical infrastructure investment, with a number of projects set to revolutionise travel across the capital.
As a result of our longer-term settlement, major upgrades will be delivered for Londoners, including new Piccadilly line trains and the modernisation of the District, Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City and Circle lines – maintaining the London Underground’s world-class status. Further benefits include: supporting the long-awaited repair of Hammersmith Bridge; vital improvement to Elephant and Castle station and a London Overground extension between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside to service more than 10,000 new homes in east London.
As part of the settlement, the Mayor will be required to continue work on the introduction of driverless trains on London Underground, in use on the Dockland Light Railway for more than 35 years. At a time when strikes are crippling both the Underground and national rail systems, never has this work been more important.
Alongside all of this is government’s continued commitment to mitigate TfL’s loss of passenger revenue from the ongoing uncertainty of demand following changes to travel patterns since the COVID-19 pandemic. None of this would have been possible without government funding.
The settlement letter requires Transport for London to modernise and control its operating costs, to make it a modern, effective, efficient and financially stable operator. It is a settlement that is fair and proportionate to London whilst also taking into account funding provided elsewhere in the country and the cost to the national taxpayer, at a time of great pressure on national finances.
It comes on top of the over £5bn of funding support the government has already provided to TfL since the beginning of the pandemic and government’s commitment to over £1 billion per year until 2025 for London transport through business rates retention.
Through all of this, government is continuing to work with the Mayor and TfL to ensure London’s transport system delivers for the public and businesses and contributes to the country’s economy.
The speech made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport in the House of Commons on 5 September 2022.
On 3 September, we announced plans to invest up to £60 million to introduce a £2 bus fare cap on a single bus ticket on most services in England outside London. This will start no later than 1 January 2023 and will be in place for a period of 3 months until March 2023.
At a time when many are struggling with the rising cost of living, this is a significant investment that will result in millions of people across England saving on travel costs. This investment also makes clear our continued commitment to delivering on the bold vision for bus services set out in ‘Bus Back Better’, the government’s national bus strategy, and particularly our ambition to make bus services cheaper. The introduction of the £2 bus fare cap is a significant step forward to delivering this and continues the government’s track record of providing the largest investment in bus services in a generation, in England outside London.
This fare cap will not apply to bus services in London as transport is devolved to the Mayor of London, including fare setting. However, I know that colleagues across Parliament will be pleased that this announcement follows the agreement with Transport for London on a £1.2 billion multi-year settlement to secure the long-term future of London’s transport network, including bus services.
As well as supporting passengers by reducing the cost of bus fares, we have also continued to invest in bus services, in response to the unprecedented impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic but which would now be threatening the provision of services at a time when the public need bus services more than ever.
With nearly £2 billion provided so far, through the COVID-19 bus service support grant, the Bus Recovery Grant and most recently the local transport fund, we have mitigated the impacts of the pandemic on bus networks. This meant that buses were kept running over the course of the pandemic to ensure that those who had to travel for work, education or healthcare were able to access these vital services and help keep this country running.
As I announced to this House in March, this funding was originally due to end in April (2022), but at the time it was clear that the sector was still facing significant financial challenges as it sought to recover from the pandemic. That is why we announced we would provide a further £150 million, and extend recovery funding for the sector until October, to allow bus services the maximum amount of time to recover.
At the time of announcing this funding, we were clear that this would be the last such round of recovery funding. However, with the sector continuing to face significant challenges, and many people facing pressures due to the rising cost of living, we recognise that further government support is necessary to prevent significant cuts to bus services for the millions of people who use them every day.
That is why on 19 August we announced a six-month extension to the Bus Recovery Grant, worth up to £130 million, to continue supporting bus services in England outside London. This will be in effect for 6 months starting in October 2022 until the end of the financial year in March 2023. This funding will provide the sector and passengers with certainty in the short-term and ensure that these vital services will continue to serve those that rely on them to live, work and travel. Both of these further investments in England’s bus services demonstrate our commitment to supporting bus services. We will continue to work closely with the sector as we deliver the national bus strategy, and fulfil our ambition for everyone, everywhere to have access to great bus services.
The letter sent by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, to Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 31 August 2022.
The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 19 August 2022.
The benefits of self-driving vehicles have the potential to be huge. Not only can they improve people’s access to education and other vital services, but the industry itself can create tens of thousands of job opportunities throughout the country.
Most importantly, they’re expected to make our roads safer by reducing the dangers of driver error in road collisions.
We want the UK to be at the forefront of developing and using this fantastic technology, and that is why we are investing millions in vital research into safety and setting the legislation to ensure we gain the full benefits that this technology promises.
The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on Twitter on 27 July 2022.
Train drivers already earn almost 60k but clearly that’s not enough for ASLEF bosses, who have called more strikes designed to hurt the people they claim to stand for, and who on average earn far less. Taxpayers gave £600 p/household to the railway during Covid and deserve better.
The statement made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, in the House of Commons on 19 July 2022.
Today, 19 July 2022, the Government have made available £959 million of additional funding to continue to progress the delivery of the ambitious Transpennine Route Upgrade.
This funding is a significant milestone, and another step towards upgrading the key East-West rail artery across the North of England to further this Government’s levelling up and decarbonisation objectives.
In addition to progressing the design of aspects of the upgrade, this funding will enable further on-the-ground delivery of electrification and journey time improvement works, mostly west of Leeds. One of the first tangible benefits will be enabling electric trains to run between Manchester and Stalybridge by the middle of the decade. We are also developing scope that will enable the Transpennine Route Upgrade to become the first phase of Northern Powerhouse Rail, including plans to unlock freight flows and take thousands of lorries off our roads.
We are also more than trebling the investment in the Transpennine Route Upgrade from £2.9 billion to between £9.0 billion and £11.5 billion. This additional investment will enable the roll out of digital signalling technology, electrification of the full route and the provision of additional tracks for commercial and freight services, giving rail users more reliable, more punctual, more comfortable and greener rail journeys.
To date, the Government have approved over £2 billion of funding for the upgrade. The further £959 million of funding reiterates this Government’s commitment to transforming rail connectivity across the north, as part of the Integrated Rail Plan.