Rail Services (Northern Lincolnshire)

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Wednesday 16th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers) has proved by his speech what a better friend he is than enemy. He has done a great deal of local research on the new rail Minister, and her words could also be applied to our situation. I will make a short contribution, and begin by welcoming the new Minister. I am genuinely delighted that she has been promoted to this position. She was kind to me when I was first elected and we were new boys and girls, and she has been extremely kind and pleasant ever since.

I agree entirely with the comments by my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes, and wish to make a couple of additional points. My constituency is the most western part of northern Lincolnshire, and the area closest to Manchester, so connectivity west is as important as connectivity east. It is not far to Manchester from that area, and retaining that link west is important, not least because Manchester airport is our regional airport. We might prefer to have a bigger regional airport, but Manchester is our biggest and very much our local airport.

When I talk to businesses, there is genuine concern that losing that connectivity west could be damaging to local businesses. One business said to me recently that it really struggles to convince people that our area is not the end of the line, and that it is a place where people should and can live because of that connectivity. The proposal is potentially very damaging to that.

I will not say much more, other than to do a quick name check for my local newspapers, thereby assuring me of getting in them next week. The Grimsby Telegraph and the Scunthorpe Telegraph are doing an excellent job on this matter, as is The Epworth Bells. This is an important issue, and the Chancellor’s words about east-west connectivity were important. We could not put a fag paper between his words and our aspirations for our area. The proposal, however, goes in the opposite direction and I know that the rail Minister takes such matters seriously. I implore her to look at the proposals again and ensure that when the franchise tender comes out, we keep our direct rail services.