Heidi Alexander MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Feb 2026 · Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate · Hansard source

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  I know that my hon. Friend takes an active interest in this issue, given the importance of bus manufacturing to his constituents in Falkirk. We are backing Britain’s bus manufacturers with long-term certainty through the 10-year zero emission bus pipeline and the work of the bus manufacturing expert panel. We have also legislated through the Bus Services Act 2025 to set a date after which no new non-zero emission buses can be used, and we will set that date in due course.

• 12 Feb 2026 · Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate · Hansard source

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  I am surprised that the right hon. Gentleman talks about U-turns. I am sure that I should not be doing this, but I reviewed his tweets from none other than the 2019 general election, in which he was very excited about decarbonisation schemes, electric vehicle infrastructure and clean energy. Perhaps his constituents will be surprised by his flip-flopping on this issue. This Government remain committed to the ZEV transition, and it is precisely the certainty of this Government’s policy that means we will meet the transition targets. Yet again, he is showing that his party cannot be trusted with the economy and the environment.

• 12 Feb 2026 · Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate · Hansard source

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  This Government remain fully committed to the zero emission vehicle transition and the ZEV mandate. In 2025, the UK had the largest electric vehicle market share of any major European economy, thanks to the certainty provided by clear Government policy and the £7.5 billion that we are investing by 2035 to support industry and drivers. The Government will review the mechanisms through which we will achieve the 2030 and 2035 phase-out dates, as planned, in the coming year.

• 12 Feb 2026 · Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate · Hansard source

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  I can assure the hon. Gentleman that this Government take our national security duties very seriously. We are taking significant steps to support the UK car manufacturing sector, and we are also supporting consumers to make the transition to EVs, with over 44 models now available for the electric car grant that we announced last year, but we will continue to ensure that all the security issues to which he refers are front and centre of our minds.

• 12 Feb 2026 · Rail Transport and Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is a great champion for young people in her constituency. I was pleased to sit down with her just last week to discuss the opportunities that this Labour Government are providing for people across Luton South and South Bedfordshire. We are determined to open up opportunities for young people through our investment in transport. Just this week, we laid before Parliament legislation to reduce the age at which someone can train to become a train driver from 20 to 18, meaning that young people do not have to wait around for years after finishing school and college before they can embark on a career on the railways.

• 12 Feb 2026 · Rail Transport and Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is, of course, right that when people are stood on a platform on a Sunday, the train should turn up as reliably as it does on a Monday morning. The truth of the matter is that there is a raft of different practices across train operating companies. We have a plan to ensure that drivers and train crew are available. We will continue to work on that, specifically on the Great Western route.

• 12 Feb 2026 · Rail Transport and Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I wondered what the Father of the House was going to ask me. I remember him asking me a couple of months ago to name a train after Margaret Thatcher. I gave him a pretty definitive response to that. On the subject of the station in his constituency and the through-service from it, I will be sure to speak to the Rail Minister for an update on his latest conversations with the right hon. Gentleman and the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers). I will be happy to write to the right hon. Gentleman with an update.

• 12 Feb 2026 · Rail Transport and Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and her Committee for its work on the important report that it published this week. We all want to see an end to the boom and bust in our rail supply chain, which damages capacity and skills retention and does not provide value for money. I can tell my hon. Friend that the Department plans to publish its rolling stock and infrastructure strategy this summer. That will set out how Great British Railways will help smooth demand and generate a steady pipeline of work for the supply chain.

• 12 Feb 2026 · Rail Transport and Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  Good, well-run rail services support economic growth. We are investing more than £10 billion over four years to improve the railway, as well as progressing work on major schemes such as HS2, East West Rail and the trans-Pennine route upgrade. Our reforms to establish Great British Railways will drive economic growth, improve services for passengers and reduce the cost of the railway. By providing more frequent and reliable services, Northern Powerhouse Rail will turn cities, including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York, and their surrounding areas into a single high-productivity growth corridor.

• 12 Feb 2026 · Rail Transport and Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I fear that the right hon. Gentleman may have misunderstood the proposals for reform in the Railways Bill. In future, open access decisions will be taken by Great British Railways, and applicants will have a right of appeal to the ORR. There is no conflict of interest. I can also assure him that in the past I have been as supportive, from the Department for Transport, as Network Rail has been of the open access application from Wrexham, Shropshire and the west midlands, and I will maintain my support for the proposals going forward. [ Official Report , 23 February 2026; Vol. 781, c. 1WC.] (Correction)

• 12 Feb 2026 · Rail Transport and Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  The timetable change on the east coast main line in December last year has meant extra seats and extra services for many parts of the north-east. The new timetable, plus additional fast services on the Durham coastline, has provided faster journeys to more customers across the north, too. I know that the Rail Minister would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to discuss how his constituents can benefit most from these changes.

• 2 Feb 2026 · High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill · Hansard source

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  As I thought I made clear when I gave my statement on Northern Powerhouse Rail to the House a couple of weeks ago—the shadow Minister made some sarcastic comments about my visit to each of the directly elected mayors along the northern growth corridor—we have agreed that those mayors and areas will be making local contributions to this scheme. We are ambitious with our plans for a “turn up and go” railway in the north of England, and we are going to get on with it—unlike his Government, who never did. The right hon. Member for Tatton (Esther McVey) gave us some colourful descriptions of what she thinks this rail scheme is all about, but she could not be more wrong. As I said, we have worked closely with leaders in the north of England and have a sequenced, credible, phased investment plan for how we will improve those rail services so that people are not stood on platforms when they miss a train, worrying that the next one is going to take an hour to arrive.

• 2 Feb 2026 · High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill · Hansard source

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  We have been clear that we expect work to start on the Yorkshire package of improvements in this Parliament. We have also said that we expect work to start on the link between Manchester and Liverpool in the 2030s. The right hon. Lady will recall that Crossrail in London was granted consent back in 2007 and the line was opened in 2022—I make that 15 years. Railways are not built overnight. To conclude, the Bill will provide the necessary powers to deliver the section of Northern Powerhouse Rail into Manchester. Progressing the Bill today is the most efficient approach as it makes use of the work that has already taken place. Today’s motions will allow the Bill to continue its passage through Parliament and will allow the invaluable work of the hybrid Bill Select Committee to recommence. This is a vital step in the delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail. Question put. A Division was called.

• 2 Feb 2026 · High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill · Hansard source

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  I will ensure that the organisations the hon. Gentleman has mentioned are appropriately consulted throughout this process. We as a Government are determined to work in partnership with all stakeholders —landowners, businesses and individuals—who are affected. The hybrid Bill Select Committee is of course a quasi-judicial process, but on behalf of my Department I undertake to make sure that all appropriate conversations are happening. Alongside this Bill, we are undertaking development work for the connection to Liverpool via Warrington Bank Quay. We will work in partnership with local stakeholders throughout the development process, and the detailed route from Millington to Liverpool will be subject to future consultation. We will determine the consenting route for this part of the line in due course. We will ensure that work on both the eastern and western section of the new Liverpool to Manchester line is fully integrated, and that we do everything we can to ensure that the new line is open for use as soon as possible once phase 1 of Northern Powerhouse Rail in Yorkshire is completed. Before I close, I would like to express my gratitude to my hon. Friends the Members for Easington (Grahame Morris) and for Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley (Tahir Ali) and the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) for their valuable work to date on the hybrid Bill Select Committee in the previous Parliament.

• 2 Feb 2026 · High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill · Hansard source

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  The motions we have before us today are vital for the delivery of the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill. It is important that I am clear at the outset about what these motions do and what they do not do. This is categorically not about reinstating HS2 north of the west midlands, and neither are these motions about addressing the longer-term capacity constraints of the west coast main line between Manchester and Birmingham. Instead, the motions are simply focused on ensuring that the Government follow the speediest and most logical consenting route to progressing plans for a new rail line between Liverpool and Manchester—a line that will also call at Warrington and Manchester airport. This new line, which will connect two great cities in the north of England, is part of the second phase of Northern Powerhouse Rail, which this Government committed to last month. Before turning to why it is important to maintain the Bill’s momentum via today’s motions, it may be helpful if I set out a brief history of the Bill’s passage. Hon. Members will recall that in His Majesty’s most Gracious Speech, this Government announced our commitment to carrying over this Bill from the previous Parliament. The Government recognise the importance of rail infrastructure in driving economic growth, enhancing productivity and unlocking opportunity in all parts of the country. The Bill itself is the mechanism by which planning consent for the eastern part of the new route between Liverpool and Manchester can be granted. Given our ambitions for the north of England, it is important that we crack on and get it done.

• 2 Feb 2026 · High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill · Hansard source

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  This has been a good debate and I am very grateful to all right hon. and hon. Members who have contributed. As I said in my introductory remarks, I believe that these motions represent an important step forward in delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail. As my hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) said, these plans will deliver faster, more frequent rail connections between fast-growing city regions in the north, which will enable more jobs, new homes and a greater number of opportunities for businesses to invest and expand. I would like to pick up on some of the remarks that have been made tonight. I welcome the recognition by the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew), that this is a practical mechanism for taking forward work on Northern Powerhouse Rail in the north-west of England. I have to say, however, that I fundamentally disagree with his characterisation of this Government’s commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail. I would say gently to him that it is a bit rich for someone from a party that first talked about Northern Powerhouse Rail in 2014 to criticise this Government for investing more than £1 billion in this spending review, which is significantly more than the hon. Gentleman’s Government ever did in the years since 2014. It was his party that was guilty of dither and delay when it came to improving rail infrastructure in the north of England. The shadow Minister claims that the Government are going to be spending significant money on consultants, but the money we allocated in the spending review is to acquire land and do preparatory works on the Yorkshire schemes—those three corridors improving links into Leeds from Bradford, York and Sheffield—as well as to plan properly. To pick up the point made by the Lib Dem spokesperson, the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover), we will not be making the same mistakes as the previous Government—we will not be letting contracts when we have not defined the scope of works. If the shadow Minister wants to understand why billions of pounds-worth of taxpayers’ money has been wasted on HS2, he needs to ask some of his colleagues some serious questions as to why his Government gave the go-ahead to HS2 when they did not know what they were asking the contractors to build.

• 2 Feb 2026 · High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill · Hansard source

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  I constantly speak to my counterpart in the Welsh Government, Ken Skates, and we have a very good collaborative working relationship. I simply remind the hon. Lady that this Government committed £445 million to Welsh rail in last year’s spending review. That is a very significant investment, which is going to result in improved stations and in more reliable and more frequent services for the people of Wales. It addresses the historical lack of investment seen in Wales. I was explaining why it is so important that we agree to these motions and maintain momentum in gaining planning consent for a new rail route between Liverpool and Manchester. We need to reconstitute the hybrid Bill Select Committee, with its membership determined in the usual way, and we need to provide for the carry-over of the Bill between Sessions. This Bill was first introduced in Parliament in January 2022. Since then, its purpose has been refined. It was initially intended to provide powers for both HS2 from Crewe to Manchester and for the section of the NPR route that would deliver east-west connectivity. The previous Government’s Network North announcement in October 2023 cancelled high-speed rail north of the west midlands, so the HS2 element of the Bill was no longer required. With the support of local leaders, in May 2024—just before the last general election—this House passed an instruction that the Bill should be adapted to focus on delivering the section of Northern Powerhouse Rail into Manchester. That is the Bill now before us. All elements of the Bill that pertain to sections of the route south of Millington will be removed. It is the Government’s intention to table an amendment to remove these powers formally during the Select Committee’s proceedings. The Bill will, however, have the necessary powers to deliver the section of Northern Powerhouse Rail into Manchester via Manchester airport, including new stations at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester airport itself. We are now seeking to progress the Bill to make the best use of the significant progress it has already made. This Government are investing up to £45 billion to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail, transforming inter-city rail in the north and driving economic growth. Northern Powerhouse Rail will ensure that the people of the north no longer have to tolerate second-rate rail infrastructure. We are delivering a turn-up-and-go railway on which missing one train no longer means waiting an hour for the next. That means more frequent and reliable commuter services will be the norm. This will help more people access good jobs, lead to more housing and offer greater opportunities for businesses to expand.

• 2 Feb 2026 · High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the following provisions shall apply in respect of the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill if proceedings on the Bill have not been completed before the end of this Session or any subsequent Session of this Parliament (each a “qualifying Session”). Suspension at end of qualifying Session 1. Further proceedings on the Bill shall be suspended from the day on which the qualifying Session in question ends until the Session that follows it (“the new Session”). 2. If a Bill is presented in the new Session in the same terms as those in which the Bill stood when proceedings on it were suspended in the qualifying Session in question— (a) the Bill so presented shall be ordered to be printed and shall be deemed to have been read the first and second time; (b) the Standing Orders and practice of the House applicable to the Bill, so far as complied with or dispensed with in the qualifying Session or a relevant earlier Session, shall be deemed to have been complied with or (as the case may be) dispensed with in the new Session; (c) any resolution relating to the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 that is passed by the House in the qualifying Session or a relevant earlier Session shall be deemed to have been passed by the House in the new Session; (d) the Bill shall be dealt with in accordance with— (i) paragraph 3, if proceedings in Select Committee were not completed when proceedings on the Bill were suspended; (ii) paragraph 4, if the Bill has been reported from the Select Committee but proceedings on the Bill in Public Bill Committee were not begun when proceedings on the Bill were suspended; (iii) paragraph 5, if proceedings in Public Bill Committee were begun but not completed when proceedings on the Bill were suspended (and see also paragraph 9); (iv) paragraph 6, if the Bill was waiting to be considered when proceedings on it were suspended; (v) paragraph 7, if the Bill was waiting for third reading when proceedings on it were suspended; (vi) paragraph 8, if the Bill has been read the third time and sent to the House of Lords. 3. If this paragraph applies— (a) the Bill shall stand committed to a Select Committee of such Members as were members of the Committee when proceedings on the Bill were suspended in the qualifying Session; (b) any instruction of the House to the Committee in the qualifying Session or a relevant earlier Session shall be an instruction to the Committee on the Bill in the new Session; (c) all petitions submitted in the qualifying Session or a relevant earlier Session which stand referred to the Committee and which have not been withdrawn, and any petition submitted between the day on which the qualifying Session ends and the day on which proceedings on the Bill are resumed in the new Session in accordance with this Order, shall stand referred to the Committee in the new Session; (d) any minutes of evidence taken and any papers laid before the Committee in the qualifying Session or a relevant earlier Session shall stand referred to the Committee in the new Session; (e) only those petitions mentioned in sub-paragraph (c), and any petition which may be submitted to the Private Bill Office and in which the petitioners complain of any amendment proposed by the member in charge of the Bill which, if the Bill were a private bill, could not be made except upon petition for additional provision or of any matter which has arisen during the progress of the Bill before the Committee in the new Session, shall stand referred to the Committee; (f) any petitioners whose petitions stand referred to the Committee in the new Session shall, subject to the rules and orders of the House, be entitled to be heard upon their petition by themselves, their counsel, representatives or parliamentary agents provided that the petition is prepared and signed in conformity with the rules and orders of the House; and the Member in charge of the Bill shall be entitled to be heard through counsel or agents in favour of the Bill against any such petition; (g) the Committee shall require any hearing in relation to a petition mentioned in sub-paragraph (f) above to take place in person, unless exceptional circumstances apply; (h) in applying the rules of the House in relation to parliamentary agents, any reference to a petitioner in person shall be treated as including a reference to a duly authorised member or officer of an organisation, group or body; (i) the Committee shall have power to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House, to adjourn from place to place, and to report from day to day minutes of evidence taken before it; (j) the Committee shall have power to make special reports from time to time; (k) three shall be the quorum of the Committee. 4. If this paragraph applies, the Bill shall be deemed to have been reported from the Select Committee and to have been re-committed to a Public Bill Committee. 5. If this paragraph applies, the Bill shall be deemed to have been reported from the Select Committee and to have been re-committed to a Public Bill Committee in respect of those clauses and Schedules not ordered to stand part of the Bill in the qualifying Session. 6. If this paragraph applies— (a) the Bill shall be deemed to have been reported from the Select Committee and from the Public Bill Committee, and (b) the Bill shall be set down as an order of the day for consideration. 7. If this paragraph applies— (a) the Bill shall be deemed to have been reported from the Select Committee and from the Public Bill Committee and to have been considered, and (b) the Bill shall be set down as an order of the day for third reading. 8. If this paragraph applies, the Bill shall be deemed to have passed through all its stages in this House. Other 9. If proceedings in Public Bill Committee are begun but not completed before the end of a qualifying Session, the chair of the Committee shall report the Bill to the House as so far amended and the Bill and any evidence received by the Committee shall be ordered to lie upon the Table. 10. For the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3 above, each of the following is a relevant earlier Session— (a) Session 2021-22; (b) Session 2022-23; (c) Session 2023-24; (d) except where the qualifying Session is this Session, each Session of this Parliament before the qualifying Session; (e) where the new Session is the first Session of the next Parliament, each qualifying Session 11. In paragraph 1 above, the reference to further proceedings does not include proceedings under Standing Order 224A(8) (deposit of supplementary environmental information). 12. In paragraph 3 above, references to the submission of a petition are to its submission electronically, by post or in person. That these Orders be Standing Orders of the House.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  We are going to give the public the confidence that when it comes to rail infrastructure, we are spending taxpayers’ money wisely. We will learn from the mistakes of HS2 and make sure we do the work properly to start off with, so we are not wasting taxpayers’ money in the way that the previous Government did with their oversight of HS2.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  I will ask the Rail Minister to write to the hon. Gentleman and update him on the particular scheme that he is advocating.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that contribution and appreciate how important it is to improve the quality of rail services to all the destinations she mentioned. Some benefits of the plans we are proposing today are, for example, that in parts of Yorkshire—I appreciate that that is a different part of the country—we could see enhanced services to London. I would be happy to have a meeting with regional colleagues to discuss the specific issues she has raised.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  I can assure my hon. Friend that we will be having detailed conversations with local partners, including Manchester airport, and we will ensure that any contribution is fair and locally agreed. It is important that organisations that will benefit directly from the improvement of rail links make a contribution, and I look forward to those discussions happening in the coming months and years. He asks about the timing for the Manchester to Birmingham element of the route. I have been clear that the priority for investment is the three stages of Northern Powerhouse Rail. The improvements to Birmingham to Manchester would come after those schemes have completed construction in the 2040s.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  May I just pay tribute once again to my hon. Friend for campaigning for the Leamside line over a long time? I recall her excitement when we announced the extension of the Tyne and Wear metro to Washington as part of the spending review, and I look forward to working with her further as we look at the business case for reopening the Leamside line, which closed many decades ago.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  Phase 3 of the plans we have announced today will deliver improvements above and beyond the work that is happening at the moment with the trans-Pennine route upgrade. My hon. Friend is right to highlight the success of that programme in being on time and on budget—very different from the mega-project of HS2. I am very keen that we emulate the successes of the trans-Pennine route upgrade through Northern Powerhouse Rail. Of course, it also provides great opportunities to the thousands of people who are currently employed on the trans-Pennine route upgrade, who can get jobs working on the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme in future.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  Very much so, and if we were able to bring productivity in the north up to the average level, the UK economy would grow by about £40 billion a year. This is not just about trains or tracks; it is about leveraging in private investment, new jobs, new homes, city centre regeneration and breathing life back into our town centres. I look forward to working further with my hon. Friend on that.