Mile 229 - Leeds - Sheffield

Mad dash from the manifesto launch to make the 1303 cross country train from Birmingham New Street to Leeds, caught with a minute to spare.  The nearly completed Queen Elizabeth hospital was a hugely (in every sense) impressive setting for the launch: a symbol of the modern, state-of-the-art public services Labour stands for, one of 100 new hospitals built under Labour which underpin the future of the NHS and make it the best sickness insurance system in the world.

Stood for part of the way to Leeds, commiserating with fellow travellers on the growing popularity of these cross-country services.  The train I am now on to Sheffield is similarly busy  - it was supposed to be twice as long, but (so the guard has told us) one of the two sets is not “operational.” I said this blog would be warts and all!

In Leeds I saw the nearly complete new cycle hub at the station - a great facility which will have hundreds of secure cycle storage spaces plus a bike retail and repair shop.  Fabian Hamilton, our candidate for Leeds North East, turned up on his bike, in full cycling gear.  One of Parliament’s keenest cyclists, Fabian has cycled all the way from Leeds to London and is passionate about the need for better facilities for cyclists at stations.  He loves our manifesto pledge to treble the number of cycle storage spaces at stations, and to build cycle hubs like the one at Leeds in more major stations.  

Labour’s plans for high-speed rail to Yorkshire are equally popular.  There is huge enthusiasm in Yorkshire for our plans for a direct line from Leeds and Sheffield to London (journey time about 75 minutes), as opposed to the Tory scheme for a line from Leeds only to London via Manchester, which isn’t much faster than the existing East Coast Mail Line.  “Leeds isn’t the end of the line to Manchester: it deserves a direct service of its own,” said Judith Blake, Labour’s candidate for Leeds North West.  Amen to that.