Heidi Alexander MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 24 Mar 2025 · Disruption at Heathrow · Hansard source

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  Perhaps the right hon. Member was not listening when I responded to questions from this side of the Chamber. There were multiple power supply points to the airport, but Heathrow took the decision that it needed to reconfigure the supply in the airport, as terminals 2 and 4 were very badly affected. It decided to put the safety and security of the travelling public first. It powered down all those systems and then powered them up again. I was not in the room when those decisions were taken. Heathrow is a private company, and it took decisions about what it thought was best for the travelling public. I, as Transport Secretary, am not going to second-guess those, but I will ensure that we do very thorough reviews. I will interrogate those reviews very carefully and ensure that any lessons we need to learn are acted upon.

• 24 Mar 2025 · Disruption at Heathrow · Hansard source

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  I think that the Kelly review will be looking at that. My hon. Friend makes a fair point about preparedness as well as resilience, which I will be discussing with those at Heathrow in the future.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Cost of Rail Services · Hansard source

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  I assure my hon. Friend that we will bring the train operating companies into public ownership properly, and that we will not repeat the mistakes we have seen in Scotland.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Cost of Rail Services · Hansard source

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  I assure the hon. Gentleman that the consultation on establishing Great British Railways is coming soon, and I look forward to discussing it further with him. I am confident that by bringing together the management of track and train, we can strip out duplication in our railways, provide better value for the taxpayer and ensure that trains are turning up on time, with reliable and punctual services. That is what we will deliver.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Cost of Rail Services · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right: in the middle of a global pandemic, the Conservatives were still obsessed with settling old political scores over fares in London, rather than doing right by the capital. I vividly remember a meeting with the then Secretary of State to discuss how we could keep services safely running, which ended with him telling me, “This would have been so much easier if you hadn’t frozen fares.” Unlike the Conservatives, this Government will always do right by the capital, as well as the rest of the country.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Cost of Rail Services · Hansard source

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  I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman has the gall to raise this issue when, under his party’s Government, fares rose at around twice the speed of wages. I also point out that since 2020, train operating companies have paid out nearly £1 billion to their parent companies, signed off by Conservative Ministers in the previous Government. If the hon. Gentleman wants to talk about costs and value for money on the railway, I suggest he start by looking in the mirror.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Cost of Rail Services · Hansard source

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  I hate to disappoint the Father of the House, but I am afraid that I will not be making such a commitment today.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Cost of Rail Services · Hansard source

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  It is our ambition through public ownership to deliver a more affordable railway. This year’s fare increase of 4.6% is the lowest absolute increase in three years. We are committed to reforming the overcomplicated fares system and expanding ticketing innovations like pay-as-you-go in urban areas across the country.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Cost of Rail Services · Hansard source

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  We will be increasing value for money in the way we operate our railways. To start off with, we will be getting rid of up to £100 million a year in management fees that we are currently paying out of the public purse to the train operating companies. We are determined to drive up performance on our railways and give better value for money to the taxpayer.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Alongside the question of how many planes should take off and land at Heathrow, there is the critical question of how people get to the airport. The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and I would be happy to discuss it further with him.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I fully support the Chancellor’s call for fresh proposals for Heathrow. Some of our airports in the south-east are running at or near capacity. We cannot pretend that that is not the case, and I am not prepared to be part of a Government who duck the difficult decisions. As the person who may ultimately be taking planning decisions on any application for a third runway at Heathrow, I will judge any scheme on its merits. We will update the airports national policy statement, and any expansion scheme must meet our legal and environmental obligations.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I hate to tell the hon. Gentleman this, but that was fantasy money. We are working through a pipeline of transport infrastructure projects, and will make announcements alongside the spending review.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Reliable, frequent train services are important, no matter where in the country we live. I will ask the Rail Minister for a meeting.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  When I was deputy Mayor for transport in London, I was speaking in that capacity at that time, reflecting the views of the Mayor of London and City Hall on a previous Heathrow expansion scheme. As Secretary of State, I will consider any airport expansion proposals on their merits and in line with existing processes. Balancing economic growth and our environmental obligations is central to all my work in this role, and I will always act in the national interest, doing what is right for the country as a whole.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am sure that is an invitation that the Rail Minister could not possibly refuse.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Delivering economic growth requires a proper plan for investment in our transport infrastructure. That is exactly what this Government are determined to deliver.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We are getting on with delivering this Government’s plan for change. Last week I approved upgrades to four major road projects across Wiltshire, Leeds, Essex and Buckinghamshire. That £90 million investment will reduce journey times, ease congestion and improve safety. It is on the back of drivers’ switching to electric cars in record-breaking numbers, with sales in January more than 40% higher than those last year and nearly 20,000 public charge points added in 2024 alone. We are backing, with a £205 million investment, the west midlands metro extension, which will take trams from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill. We are cutting journey times and improving connections for towns with poor public transport links, and yesterday we announced a £300 million investment to get Britain walking and cycling, with hundreds of new footpaths and cycle lanes. We are delivering the basics of a better transport system, which means improving the everyday journeys that drive economic growth and make people’s lives better.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Network Rail is completing a strategic outline business case, covering electrification of the Calder Valley line. The business case will be considered in the context of the wider electrification strategy, so that we can determine how to deliver the best possible benefits across the region.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is an assiduous and informed campaigner for improved rail services for his constituents. He will know that funding for the midlands rail hub includes funding for designs for reinstated island platforms at King’s Norton. Decisions still need to be taken on future investment, but I know that he will push for construction to start as soon as possible.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I will always work closely with colleagues in the Scottish Government to ensure that this Government’s ambitions for transport reach all corners of the UK. The Scottish Government have had a record settlement through the Budget, so I look forward to hearing more about plans for a greater Glasgow metro scheme as they develop.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  There is a balance to be struck here. I welcome services such as those that run to Hull; they open up new routes and new connectivity. I have, however, asked the Office of Rail and Road to consider the balance in the revenue that they abstract from public operators, and to ensure that we are using constrained capacity in our network appropriately to deliver excellent services for passengers.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Rolling Stock: Purchasing Models · Hansard source

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  I assure the hon. Gentleman that I do not lack any ambition when it comes to Great British Railways. It would cost billions in taxpayers’ money to buy existing rolling stock, at a time when there are many pressures on the public purse. My officials have been engaging regularly with EUROFIMA to consider the potential for UK membership and how EUROFIMA finance could be deployed in the UK.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Rolling Stock: Purchasing Models · Hansard source

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  As part of our reforms to the railway, we have set out that we will continue to lease rolling stock when we take contracts into public ownership, but we will apply a single directing mind approach to eliminate barriers to sharing rolling stock better across the network. We will consider the best funding and financing structures for future orders and contracts in partnership with private capital.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Open Access Railway Services · Hansard source

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  I appreciate the right hon. Lady’s commitment to making the case for a new station at Aldridge, but I gently point out to her that in the 14 years of her party’s Government, including her own stint in the Department for Transport, the station failed to materialise. The West Midlands combined authority has had to prioritise the delivery of schemes that are in construction. That seems to me to be a reasonable approach, but I appreciate that she will continue to make the case for her own station.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Open Access Railway Services · Hansard source

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  Open access operators will continue to have a place in our reformed Great British railways. We have supported new proposals from Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway, and existing track access rights will be honoured. Open access can provide benefits, but it must not come at the cost of better services for passengers and better value for taxpayers.