Cost of Public Transport

Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Lord McLoughlin

Tuesday 19th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Patrick McLoughlin)]

I welcome the debate and I know that the hon. Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood) cares very much about the subject. She has worked with us on the Bill for HS2, which is making good progress, and I thank the Opposition for their support on that vital project.

I also thank everyone in all parts of the transport industry who has been out this winter responding to the floods. It has not been easy, but good progress is being made. I was in Cumbria for the second time last week to see it at first hand. Over the Christmas period, Network Rail also successfully carried out its biggest ever works as part of the railway upgrade plan that is so essential to the future of the British rail industry. I pay tribute to the thousands of staff who gave up their Christmas to improve our railways.

Today, the hon. Lady asks about transport costs, and I am pleased she does. After all, the Opposition should know all about them, because when they were in office rail fares soared. In their last full year, regulated fares increased by up to 11% and between 2004 and 2010 they went up by about 4% a year—a total increase of some 26.4%. We have kept increases down. They have dropped steadily over the past five years and we have frozen increases at inflation for the whole of this Parliament, a promise made in our manifesto and kept in government, saving more than a quarter of a million season ticket holders an average of £425 over the next five years.

The Opposition should also know about the cost of driving. Fuel prices are down by almost 16% in real terms since 2010 and we abolished a number of the increases that were going to take place under the Labour Government.

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

Despite all the howling we have just heard from Opposition Members about oil prices, was it not the Opposition who wanted to freeze energy prices?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am going to say a bit more about their record in government; I am not sure that I want to say too much about their record in opposition.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr McLoughlin]

My hon. Friend clearly shows that Conservative councils choose priorities to help local people and make sure the investment goes straight to the frontline. I congratulate the council in his area on doing that.

[Alec Shelbrooke]

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

[Mr McLoughlin]

If my hon. Friend will forgive me, I am mindful of the time. I know other hon. Members wish to speak, and I understand that there is to be a very important maiden speech.

On the east coast line, Virgin is bringing 23 new services a day from London, with more than 70 extra stops at stations. The hon. Member for Nottingham South is against that. There are plans for new direct services to Huddersfield, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Dewsbury and Thornaby, and more trains to London from Bradford, Edinburgh, Harrogate, Leeds, Lincoln, Newcastle, Shipley, Stirling and York. That is our plan to build for the future and support our great cities, too. Under this Government, that means city deals, new mayors, growth, a northern powerhouse and a transformation of the railways in the north.

In 2004, when Labour was in charge, it let the franchise for Northern rail on a zero-growth basis. That meant no investment, while fares were allowed to rise. It was a disgrace. Perhaps the hon. Lady would like to apologise for the consequences. The cost was no new trains and massive overcrowding, with people expected to travel on worn-out Pacers. Just before Christmas, the Government let new franchises for Northern and TransPennine that will result in a £1.2 billion boost to rail services, 500 new carriages, 40,000 extra spaces for passengers and free wi-fi on trains and in stations. No wonder local Labour politicians in the north were lining up to praise the move. Liam Robinson, chairman of Merseytravel, said it was a “big step forward” and would “drive up standards”. Labour councillors including Peter Box, Richard Leese, Keith Wakefield and Nick Forbes praised the impact of devolution to Rail North. The RMT commented too, describing it as a “bitter blow”. Who does the hon. Lady agree with? Would she have signed that franchise contract—yes or no? Would the Opposition have walked away, leaving the north with nothing, just like they did last time? We bring the private and public sectors together in partnership, backing better services and growth.

The hon. Lady mentions buses. I am not clear what she wants. Does she want to nationalise them too? We are going to legislate so that cities can help shape their bus networks, working with the private sector. While her party was in office, bus use outside of London fell by 8%. In 2010 only 25% of buses outside London could take smart cards; now 89% can. Compared with 2010, buses are safer, with more CCTV, and they are busier and more accessible. The Government are supporting the vital work done by community transport organisations with a scheme to help them buy new minibuses. We have taken tough decisions on the economy, but protected concessionary travel across the country.

On road travel, we have reformed Highways England and set out the first-ever long- term investment programme. We are investing in local roads, with a record £6 billion of funding to tackle the menace of potholes, and a further £475 million for the larger road schemes that some towns so desperately need. On cycling, which the Opposition did not even mention in today’s motion, we have increased spending from the £2 a head that we inherited in 2010 to £6 a head today, and we will go further still.

That is the investment we need to help cut the cost of transport. We are getting on with Crossrail, which is on course to open two years from now. We are getting on with HS2, with construction starting in less than two years from now. A new National Infrastructure Commission has been established. Record investment is taking place and rail fare increases have been frozen in line with inflation. Transport is transforming our country, whereas Labour wants to go back to an age when train use fell, fares went up and investment was cut. This Government are optimistic about rail, roads, buses, cycling, and more importantly the British people. We are going to be trusting. We are going to see investment at a record level, which will be good for our cities and for our country right across the transport network. I urge the House to reject the motion.

Airports Capacity

Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Lord McLoughlin

Monday 14th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am still waiting to hear—it should be such a simple, easy answer—what the SNP’s position is on this matter. Which scheme do SNP Members support? They are silent on it. They want everybody else to give their answers, so that once the decision is made they will attack it and say they would go down a different route. That seems to be the only point of the SNP in this Chamber: to wait for a decision to be made, then attack it. No wonder SNP Members are in such a difficult position today.

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

The effect of a hub airport in the United Kingdom stretches to all parts of the United Kingdom, including up in the Leeds area. Those travelling transatlantic who want to get airside at Leeds cannot do so because the first flight out of Leeds is around midday, so capacity is vital to the economy. However, I believe that all the options before us are wrong and I would like my right hon. Friend take to this opportunity to look further at what I think is a better option, a fourth: two more runways at Stansted.

High Speed 2

Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Lord McLoughlin

Monday 30th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

I note today that Leeds City Council has been successful in lobbying for the “T” station in the centre of the city, and also that the concerns expressed by my constituents in Woodlesford and—as my right hon. Friend knows, by me—have led to options being at least considered in regard to the route to Leeds. I hope that they will include the tunnel idea. May I urge my right hon. Friend to put pressure on HS2 Ltd to publish the route as soon as possible, in order to avoid circumstances such as those experienced by one of my constituents, who tried to remortgage his house last week and found that the mortgage company had given it a £0 rating?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am incredibly sympathetic towards cases of that kind, and my Ministers and I are always willing to look into individual cases. This is a huge project. As I have said, I regret not being able to say more and confirm the rest of the route at this point, but that is still being studied, and all the options suggested by Members are being examined. Once we have announced the route, there will come a time for legislative changes to be made in the House of Commons. I am afraid, however, that part of the difficulty with planning long-term infrastructure projects is caused by the fact that they are long term, and they do take a long time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Lord McLoughlin

Thursday 16th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

No.

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend has made it absolutely clear that electrification of the line will happen in the future. Does he agree that the hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in Kirkstall Forge and Apperley Bridge stations and the southern access at these stations shows that the Government have put their money where their mouth is? Does it not also show that, unlike Labour, which in government took £350 million out of the city of Leeds to spend on Crossrail—under a Labour council and with the support of all eight Labour MPs for the city—this Government are investing in the north and committed to the northern powerhouse?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I visited the site he refers to with him not so long ago. [Interruption.] No, it was after the election actually. I am also pleased to say that our investment in Leeds station to provide a new access will be very important for that station.

Davies Commission Report

Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Lord McLoughlin

Wednesday 1st July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend has heard representations from around the House on the importance of connectivity from regional airports. For most air travellers, often the most frustrating part is getting airside. Therefore, prompting great relief, British Airways now runs a flight out of Leeds to Heathrow, allowing people to get airside without facing the congestion at Heathrow. However, they cannot run for the early flights in the morning because there simply is not the capacity. I am worried that the report rules out the possibility of further expansion, if needed, with respect to regional airports. With that in mind, will my right hon. Friend, as he considers the Davies report, give serious consideration to other locations such as Stansted to ensure that we have future ongoing capacity, as well as the solution being looked at right now?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am not sure that the commission has ruled that out. I referred to a chapter in Sir Howard’s report, which talks about other airports playing a role and seeing those expand too. The point I would make to my hon. Friend is that one issue that is often raised is the availability of slots into London airports.

Rail Network (Disruption)

Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Lord McLoughlin

Monday 5th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

What I will confirm is that we are investing some £38 billion in the railways, which is more than any previous Government have invested. In 13 years, Labour electrified 10 miles of track. We will be electrifying more than 800 miles, which is a record of which this Government are incredibly proud. [Official Report, 7 January 2015, Vol. 590, c. 1-2MC.]

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

Under nationalisation, the railways suffered from decades of neglect and under-investment. I pay tribute to Network Rail for the work it is doing to sort out that problem, particularly as my constituents of Elmet and Rothwell regularly use the east coast main line. Does my right hon. Friend find it incredible that many Opposition Members feel that the answer is to nationalise the railways and go back to the bad old days?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. As I have said, we have seen a tremendous increase in the importance of the railways. I do not want to bore the House, but I will repeat the figures that I have already mentioned. Under British Rail, 750 million journeys were made every year. Last year, the figure was 1.6 billion. Growth year on year is the result of the way in which the franchises are selling tickets and promoting the railways.

High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill

Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Lord McLoughlin

Monday 28th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I do not accept what my hon. Friend says, which was not reflected in the experience of building HS1.

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend’s written statement mentions the express purchase, which is

“being launched today and is for those people living closest to the line, in…the ‘surface safeguarded’ area.”—[Official Report, 9 April 2014; Vol. 579, c. 20WS.]

Will he clarify how far from the line that would be, as it is not clear from his written statement?

High-speed Rail

Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Lord McLoughlin

Monday 24th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman to the House. I am delighted to see him in his place, but I wish that his predecessor was still there—as I am sure we all do. He was a big supporter of HS2 and believed that it would bring tremendous benefits to his city of Manchester—I agree.

If we build to Crewe, as suggested by Sir David Higgins, it will result in immediate time improvements for Manchester, but I know that what people want to see is the connection to Manchester airport as well as to the city itself.

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

Speeding up delivery for this major infrastructure project for the north is to be welcomed, but—as my hon. Friends the Members for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland) and for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney) suggested—deep concern is felt in west Yorkshire that economic advantage may come for the west side of the Pennines earlier than it will in Yorkshire if the extension goes beyond Birmingham before it goes to Manchester and then Leeds. I urge my right hon. Friend to engage more with the west Yorkshire councils to ensure that they have a strong, positive and simple message about the advantages of HS2, as their colleagues on the west side of the Pennines did, and which I am sure has influenced Sir David Higgins in his recommendation to extend on that side first, rather than ours.

[Mr McLoughlin]

I hear what my hon. Friend says. There has, rightly, been involvement: Julie Dore, the leader of Sheffield city council, was a member of the taskforce. The taskforce has stated that cities need to prepare, so that we can consider the long-term consequences of overall transport investment. They need to prepare for the benefits that HS2 will bring to their areas.

High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill

Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Lord McLoughlin

Wednesday 26th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who makes that point from vast experience. It is worth remembering how controversial High Speed 1 was when it was built. I will talk about that a little later. The simple fact is that every infrastructure project—not nearly every project, but every project—is very controversial when it first starts, and in that regard High Speed 2 is no different.

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State give way?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I will not be in the position that you are in, Mr Speaker, of having actually counted the number of interventions I have taken, but I will give way to my hon. Friend.

[Alec Shelbrooke]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right that all major infrastructure projects are controversial. Would he like to reflect on where he thinks the great city of Leeds would be today had we not built the M1?