Claire Perry, MP for Devizes, and Rail Minister July 2014 to July 2016

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Claire Perry, a salty-languaged ex-City trader who led the Government's campaign for filters on online pornography, is the new rail minister, replacing Stephen Hammond (another middle-aged white man). Perry is said to have walked into a Commons tea room before announcing: "What do I have to do to speak, give the Speaker a b---j--?"

[JayMac]

Claire Perry, the new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about), is the MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) for Devizes, Wiltshire.

Could be a handy person to get to know better, grahame! 


The new make-up at the DfT is:

• Secretary of State: Patrick McLoughlin
• Minister of State: John Hayes
• Minister of State: Baroness Kramer
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State: Robert Goodwill
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State: Claire Perry

[John R]

I did wonder for a moment whether we were getting Grayson's alter-ego in the Transport Department. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

Interestingly, John, Claire Perry MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) is a local - raised in North Somerset, and educated at Nailsea School. 

[grahame]

Claire Perry, the new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about), is the MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) for Devizes, Wiltshire.

Could be a handy person to get to know better, grahame! 

Indeed.  Claire has been very much involved positively with rail in Wiltshire, and actively supported us with our north / south flows on the TransWilts, and other LSTF^▸ (Local Sustainable Transport Fund) / Wiltshire stations and connections.  I welcome her to the role; she'll hit the ground running with knowledge of our LEP^» (Local Enterprise Partnership - about) area and I'm sure will appreciate the magnitude of the changes that are underway, and the need to provide a stable management and development of services through to the conclusion of projects such as electrification, IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) and cascades.

[JayMac]

Sadly, none of those projects will be anywhere neare complete come May 2015. There'll probably be another ministerial merry-go-round even if the Tories form the next Government.

[grahame]

Sadly, none of those projects will be anywhere neare complete come May 2015

But in this period, much work will be done in analysing the consultation that finished last month on the GW^▸ (Great Western) Consultation, and on deciding how long / what the award will be from September 2015, and those projects could be completed during that award period. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald:

Claire Perry, MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) for Devizes - New role will allow me to represent local interests



The phrase ^vertical learning curve^ characterises the last few days as I get to grips with my new job, although I have been helped by the local work we have already done on rail services.

It has given me a good understanding of the huge electrification project in our region, the service requirements for the First Great Western franchise currently under discussion and the importance of fast,frequent and direct train links from Pewsey and Bedwyn for the economy of Wiltshire. I discussed these points when I met early morning commuters from Great Bedwyn this week where a frequent question for me was the impact of my new job on local rail campaigning.

The answer is that, while there are strict propriety guidelines over possible conflicts of interest in government meaning that ministers typically do not take final decisions on matters in which they have a strong personal or constituency interest (quite right too), there is every opportunity for me to get the right information to the right place, hold appropriate meetings and strongly represent local interests ^ all of which I intend to do in my new role which, along with railways, includes responsibility for major projects like Crossrail and Thameslink, freight services and agencies like the DVLA^▸ (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency).

Also this week I was proud to present several awards locally. The first were BTEC certificates awarded to a group of young people at the Wellington Academy in Tidworth by a wonderful charity called CVQO that teaches teamwork, personal skills and citizenship, all with a military ethos, in schools across the country.

The second was a long-service award for more than 40 years of agricultural employment to David Pearce, of Manor Farm, Alton Barnes.

At this time of year, hearing the buzz of late night combining and with bulging hay transporters on the road, it is appropriate to pay tribute to all local people whose livelihood is intimately tied up with farming and who work year round to grow British food and feedstock for all of us.

The peaceful Wiltshire harvest landscape seems a long way removed from the atrocity of MH17 which shattered so many lives as well as people^s patience with the current regime in Moscow and the Prime Minister is right to impose more punitive economic sanctions and to call for the immediate suspension of all European military sales to Russia.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Plymouth Herald:

Rail minister visits Plymouth to see train improvements



First Great Western passengers will be able to access free wi-fi internet connections from early next year, the train company has confirmed as the new rail minister visited the city.

Rail Minister Claire Perry went to Plymouth and Taunton yesterday to see the progress of the ^13 million investment announced earlier this year in a deal between the firm and the Government to upgrade high-speed trains.

Some 3,000 more standard class seats will be created to ease overcrowding by converting first-class carriages.

Work to install free wi-fi on the operator's fleet is also under way. Broadband connections are only currently available on the London-Cornwall sleeper service.

The minister visited First Great Western's Laira depot, where the refurbishment is being carried out, and Taunton station, where ^4.6m from the Government's Local Growth Fund will help transform the facility.

Ms Perry said: "We are committed to ensuring that passengers in the South West get the rail network that they deserve, and these improvements will make a real difference, providing more seats, more comfort and greater convenience for business and leisure travellers alike. Today's visit shows our commitment to securing further improvements, and we will continue to work with the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) to provide the additional capacity and services we know our customers want. As part of our long-term economic plan, we are investing record amounts in transforming the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s rail network, with more than ^38 billion being spent over the next five years, and the work at Laira is a great example of this."

The changes to the High Speed fleet will see 3,000 additional standard class seats provided, with more tables, and free WiFi from early 2015.

[Richard Fairhurst]

Claire Perry has apparently now resigned (...before being pushed?).

[grahame]

Claire Perry has apparently now resigned (...before being pushed?).

https://www.juicebrighton.com/news/brighton-news/2040395/rail-minister-resigns-reports/

It's being reported that Rail Minister Claire Perry has resigned.

The MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) was responsible for overseeing GTR, who operate Southern, Thameslink and the Gatwick Express.

Earlier this week Ms Perry appeared at a meeting about performance on Southern, following continued calls for her to take action and strip the company of their franchise.

Organised by East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton, he told Ms Perry to "get a grip" over the poor performance of Sussex rail services.

Throughout the past few months she's told MPs from all parties, that she would not be withdrawing the franchise because the company are "making improvements."

"I can't, it's not in breach of contract franchise right now. The company is not in breach. I do not have the levers to pull the franchise back. I don't like failure, this feels like a failure." -Claire Perry at Transport Meeting

There have been calls to the new Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to sort out the problems with Southern Railway, following his appointment into the role by Prime Minister Theresa May.

[chuffed]

If thats true, thats sad, She certainly brought passion and a splash of colour to a very male stale and pale department. If, as she has said, the franchise rules do not give her the power to make changes, then the rules need to be changed, not the hapless minister.

[ellendune]

They ran the Southern franchise competently for many years, so what has changed?

Would taking the franchise off them actually change anything? If they are now doing everything possible to put it right, then direct management could do no better. This looks like something that will take time to fix. It is perhaps better for the reputation of direct management and Dft that GTR take the blame for the mess while it is fixed.

[bobm]

Her website confirms she was rail minister "until July 2016" and references to her ministerial email address have been removed.

[grahame]

Congratulation to Claire Perry on her promotion to Minister of State for Business and Energy. If she is as well informed on this role as I found her in transport, she could be very effective in what she does.