Opinion
The reshuffled face of rail
Inside the coalition – David Cameron and Nick Clegg recently decided the fate of their ministers and Ed Miliband took the opportunity to promote fresh talent. With a host of new faces, Jay Turner takes a look at the frontbench and backbench MPs now focusing on rail policy in Westminster
Conservative O
n the Conservative front bench we begin with Secretary of State, Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP. Brought in
following the WCML franchise fiasco last year, the unflappable Derbyshire Dales MP deserves credit for steadying a large and unpredictable ship. Inevitably, he says he spends around 80 per cent of his time dealing with the railways. A pair of Parliamentary Under- Secretaries of State – Stephen Hammond MP and Robert Goodwill MP – completes the Tory contingent in the Department
for Transport (DfT). With responsibility for rail (including operational issues, major projects, fares and ticketing, franchising, Crossrail and the Rail Delivery Group), Hammond has secured his desired (and deserved) position. A former investment analyst and Merton councillor, Hammond was quickly promoted to the shadow transport frontbench after winning his seat in 2005. In opposition he was heavily involved with reviewing the Conservative’s rail policy and he was chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Rail Group for more than two years. During his time in the shadow transport frontbench team, he played an
instrumental role in formulating flagship policies such as the Conservative Party’s Rail Review and its strategy for a new high speed rail network for the UK. He spearheaded the opposition’s response to, among others, the then concessionary bus fares, Crossrail and local transport bills. Following the reshuffle, Scarborough
and Whitby MP Goodwill takes on responsibility for rail freight and HS2 Phase One. Goodwill follows Simon Burns across from the whips’ office to join his former boss, McLoughlin. He is a steam train enthusiast, and his own steam train can often be seen at traction engine conventions and events in Yorkshire.
December 2013 Page 37
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