High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill

Priti Patel Excerpts

Monday 28th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)]

I am happy to have the opportunity to contribute in this debate, because I welcome the Government’s approach to investment in our rail infrastructure and infrastructure across the UK. I am conscious of many of the constituency sensitivities raised by all my colleagues, and I commend them in this debate today, but I encourage the Government to carry on in their investment in rail infrastructure. The Secretary of State will know not only of my passion for rail, but of that of the eastern region; he will know of the great eastern main line taskforce that has been set up and all the work we are doing to promote more investment in our rail network. That is why I speak highly of high-speed rail and the work this Government are doing, particularly through this Bill. There is no doubt that this Bill and the investment programme it proposes will not only transform our economy, creating jobs and growth, but, importantly, boost our competitiveness in the world. We need that. The network in the eastern region will be transformed—there is no doubt that there will be natural benefits.

The project will particularly demonstrate that we have had not enough investment in our rail infrastructure, particularly under previous Governments. It is a fact that Britain has languished and is languishing in the World Economic Forum’s index of global competitiveness for its overall infrastructure quality. This Government have been absolutely focused on turning that situation around, and we should all support the Bill on that basis. This is about our place in the world, as well as enhancing our domestic infrastructure.

The final point I wish to make is that we have heard a lot about the value of HS2 to the supply chain and what it will mean for jobs, growth and our economy. There could be at least a £10 billion boost of supply chain contracts, and we should all welcome that. This is a national project and its scale is unprecedented. I would like to make a big plug, because this is an opportunity to create more jobs in the UK. This Government have a tremendous record in supporting British jobs, with 1.7 million new jobs since we have been in government and employment at record numbers. HS2 presents a great opportunity for manufacturing, for greater skills and for engineering, logistics and design jobs in the UK.

It will not surprise you, Mr Deputy Speaker, when I give a plug for Essex at this point. The Essex chamber of commerce wants to be at the forefront of leading that supply chain, and I urge the Secretary of State to engage with Back-Bench MPs and other MPs from around the region. We have the skills and expertise in abundance in my county and across the UK—there is no doubt about that—and we want to help to build HS2. On that basis, I will absolutely be supporting the Government. I applaud more investment in our rail infrastructure—and with that, I will sit down.