New PMs and Transport Secretaries, Autumn 2022

[whole diary]

[Western Pathfinder]

Truss gone ,Well that took long enough,who's next?..

[eXPassenger]

Truss gone ,Well that took long enough,who's next?..

I am reminded of the early WW2 cartoon of a group of German railway managers lined up and the caption was 'Last across the road becomes station master at Hamm'.  This was under a headline stating 'RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) bombs marshaling yards at Hamm again'.

[CyclingSid]

Truss gone ,Well that took long enough,who's next?..

... and for how long?

[TonyK]

Truss gone ,Well that took long enough,who's next?..

I have seen it written that our late monarch Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II spent more time in weekly 30 minute audiences with Prime Ministers over the years than Liz Truss spent as Prime Minister. Personally, I can't help but feel a tiny bit sorry for her, because it will be a blow to her confidence. But nobody forced her into it.

[Surrey 455]

90. Thorpe Park

To be clear, Thorpe Park, LEEDS -  https://thorpeparkleeds.com/connection/ . According to Wikipedia, Thorpe Park, SURREY has around 600,000 visitors a year, with a maximum capacity of 15,000. 

According to thetrainline

The nearest train station to Thorpe Park is Staines which is about 3 miles away from the theme park. Staines is served by regular South Western Railway services from London Waterloo and Reading.

Is Kwasi the MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post - a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London, depending on context) for Thorpe Park?
err, the Thorpe Park in Surrey between Staines and Chertsey?

I'll be honest. I've never liked the guy. He came out in favour of a third runway at Heathrow. It's my opinion that if he wants it that badly it should be built to the south of the existing airport. In his constituency!

[grahame]

So - Rishi Sunak is PM.  Will Anne-Marie Trevelyan remain at transport?  And the other ministers there?

[CyclingSid]

This morning's BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) News speculated that Shapps would be back at DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)??

[Electric train]

This morning's BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) News speculated that Shapps would be back at DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)??

Shapps who is friend of the new PM probably did a deal "if you promise me I get my old job back I will get my flock of sheep errrrrrrrr MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post - a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London, depending on context) to vote for you"

Could this mean GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) back as a thing again?

[Witham Bobby]

The title of this thread has aged well

[grahame]

The title of this thread has aged well

 

This forum has aged well too.   When it was set up, Tony Blair was Prime Minister and there have been 6 since. Douglas Alexander was Secretary of State for Transport and there have been 9 since.  Alison Forster was MD/GEO of FGW^▸ (First Great Western) which became GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway). Would anyone care to say how many there have been since, though I welcome the stability of both the current incumbent, and the recent gentleman who deputised for him while he had the task of sorting out SWR^» (South Western Railway - about).

[JayMac]

Rishi at the moment:

[JayMac]

Shapps gets the Moggster's old job. Business Sec.

Six days as Home Secretary. That's a record. Braverman, despite her security breach a week ago, gets her old job back.

[chuffed]

Mark Harper FOD MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post - a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London, depending on context) appointed Transport Sec. Cue Norchard as GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) HQ^▸ (HeadQuarters) and HS3 hub. Can he please get his ex Chief whipping skills in operation on the Portishead line ?

[JayMac]

Mark Harper:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Harper

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/11588/mark_harper/forest_of_dean

[TonyK]

Mark Harper FOD MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post - a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London, depending on context) appointed Transport Sec. Cue Norchard as GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) HQ^▸ (HeadQuarters) and HS3 hub. Can he please get his ex Chief whipping skills in operation on the Portishead line ?

I know little of him, other than that the reforms he made to the process of making claims to Personal Independence Payment had the effect of speeding up decisions, and making it easier for disabled people to claim the benefit. I must admit to an expression of cynicism when I first heard about it, and was surprised at the favourable outcome. He was one of the ministers at my department from 2014. I think he also improved the shocking Work Capability Assessment process, but this was the last two years before I retired, and I was asleep most of the time.