Minister for Transport, and Ministers of State, at the Department for Transport

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

I'm sure Heathrow's baggage handlers will help him lose any baggage he may have.

 

[TonyK]

As well as McLoughlin, there is another face to watch here. Paul Deighton, soon to be ennobled as Lord Deighton (of Stratford???) was chief executive of LOCOG. As such, he is one of the most popular people in public planning in Britain today. He is due to join the government as a Treasury minister, with a brief covering delivery of infrastructure projects as a way of boosting the economy.

He was formerly a banker with Goldman Sachs, but from what I have read, we shouldn't hold that against him. In an interview with The Times published 15 September, he says he puts his success as a banker (and his ^95 million personal wealth) down to being lucky to have been in the right place at the right time. Pointing to his time at LOCOG as his motivation for taking the infrastructure role, he says:

"If I were a greedy bastard, I wouldn't have done what I've done for the last seven years or what I'm about to do for the next two and a half"

He will take the Conservative whip in the Lords, but says he isn't a natural Tory, nor any sort of political animal for that matter, and has voted otherwise in the past. He will report to the Chancellor, and will not take a salary.

[grahame]

Stephen Hammond leaving Department for Transport according to the news ... but can't find that on the news sites yet. Let's see who's next in that seat.

[John R]

What's the point in having a reshuffle 10 months before the election? It just brings more instability to all government departments, not just Transport (although that one does seem to have had a particularly fast revolving door for many years).

[LiskeardRich]

There is a live feed on bbc website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28303750

Does Dave really decide to announce reshuffles to his cabinet at 11pm at night or is the live feed not really live?

[ChrisB]

Nothing on there about Stephen Hammond - maybe it was just rumour?

Or confusion with his Philip namesake?

[grahame]

Nothing on there about Stephen Hammond - maybe it was just rumour?

Or confusion with his Philip namesake?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/10967386/William-Hague-quits-as-a-dozen-ministers-axed-in-cabinet-reshuffle.html

Out

[snip ...]

Stephen Hammond, rail minister

I have to say I personally feel we see changes at the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) just a bit too often ...

[ChrisB]

"Mr (John) Hayes becomes a transport minister and continues in his role at the Cabinet office "

Doesn't say which one though....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/10967655/Cabinet-reshuffle-after-the-sackings-the-ministerial-promotions-live.html

[grahame]

A new Government.

1. Who would you like to propose as ministers at the Department for Transport?

2. What SHOULD be the top of their agenda?

3. And what do you think WILL be the top of their agenda?

Our "Frequent Posters" have been discussing the election's outcome in general {here} - that thread is not publicly available, but members who have made at least 10 posts are able to read and contribute.  I make this point because I know that a lot of members also read as guests from time to time.

[IndustryInsider]

I think the current SoS has proven to be very capable, so I'd like him to continue.

[TonyK]

I would like Patrick McLoughlin to continue. He is the longest serving transport minister since Alistair Darling, and differs from Darling in that he seems to care and know about transport.

His priorities should be:
1) Finishing Crossrail
2) HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s))
3) Planning for Crossrail 3
4) Airport capacity in the London area
5) Planning the next tranche of electrification projects
6) Tram-train trials in Sheffield, leading to
7) Evaluation of light rail and tram-train routes in cities and along disused rail corridors

His actual priorities will be
1) Finishing crossrail
2) HS2
3) Major road building schemes to add to those recently announced
4) Finding a way of avoiding making a decision about airport capacity before the next election
5) Cutting billions from the budget without it looking like billions have been cut from the budget
6) Sorting out the next crisis in the franchising and ROSCO^» (Rolling Stock Owning Company - about) systems
7) Making it all look good for the next election

He starts from a position of strength as regards railways. A lot of major projects will come to fruition during the life of this parliament - Crossrail, Thameslink's new kit and the cascade of rolling stock, electrification of the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.), Temple Meads redevelopment, not forgetting Four Track, Now! to Filton Bank starting any minute now. That's just in our neck of the woods. Rail is in the ascendancy, and there is an opportunity to go with the momentum, investing to save as well as to improve. There is also an opportunity to do nothing more than is already under way, which would be a big mistake in the long term.

[Phil]

I see the newly re-elected erstwhile (probably still) transport portfolio holder and local to us MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Claire Perry has already managed to get herself into trouble:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11591752/General-Election-2015-Ukip-slur-Shame-on-Tory-MP-sexist-tweet.html

"Hallelujah. Mark Reckless out. Don't let the door hit your fat arse as you leave."
These are the words of Claire Perry, Tory MP for Devizes, upon learning of the defeat of the man who left the Conservatives for the grateful embrace of Ukip.

I don't often find myself agreeing with columnists in the Telegraph, but I have to say I agree here that if a male candidate had tweeted about a female candidate^s ^fat arse^ it probably would've resulted in considerably more brown stuff hitting the fan...

[Rhydgaled]

The priorities I would like to see (some pinched from Four Track, Now!) (in no particular order, except the first is number 1):

• Provide a good number of full-length INTERCITY trains for the Great Western capable of off-wire operation in normal service, the 7x 9-car bi-mode AT300 order First have proposed might do the job if they are approved but the 5-car component of that order isn't and IC125s are retained instead
• Find some way of protecting funding for bus services
• Finishing Crossrail
• Planning the next tranche of electrification projects
• Planning rolling stock cascades and additional capacity
• Tram-train trials in Sheffield, leading to plans for trams tram/trains in and around cities (including Swansea)
• Outlawing airport expansion
• Reducing new road bypass/widening schemes which undermine public transport, using some of the money saved to help cut the deficit and the rest for public transport and/or repairs to existing roads
• HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) (maybe, but I don't agree with aspects of the current plans, namely the Leeds spur and the idea of 200mph+ London-Birmingham shuttles, the latter seems a terrible waste of electricity when motorways have a 70mph limit).
  

The Tories' actual priorities will (unfortunately in some cases) probably be:
1) Cutting billions from the budget (presumably leading to the loss of effective bus services in many areas)
2) Finishing crossrail
3) Major road building schemes
4) Approving additional airport capacity
5) HS2 (although this might come slightly higher up the list)

[Richard Fairhurst]

1. Who would you like to propose as ministers at the Department for Transport?

Boris Johnson, because the segregated superhighways now being built in London are the best thing any senior British politician has ever done for cycling, and they need to be rolled out nationwide. (But I don't expect it to happen.)

[Western Pathfinder]

I see the newly re-elected erstwhile (probably still) transport portfolio holder and local to us MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Claire Perry has already managed to get herself into trouble:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11591752/General-Election-2015-Ukip-slur-Shame-on-Tory-MP-sexist-tweet.html

"Hallelujah. Mark Reckless out. Don't let the door hit your fat arse as you leave."
These are the words of Claire Perry, Tory MP for Devizes, upon learning of the defeat of the man who left the Conservatives for the grateful embrace of Ukip.

I don't often find myself agreeing with columnists in the Telegraph, but I have to say I agree here that if a male candidate had tweeted about a female candidate^s ^fat arse^ it probably would've resulted in considerably more brown stuff hitting the fan...

Good for you Claire I say