What does the Tories manifesto say about transport?

I’ve taken a break from my rail tour to examine what the Tories have to say on transport in their manifesto. Incoherent would be my one word summary.

On high speed rail, I of course welcome the Tories’ commitment in principle to high speed rail. As Transport Secretary I’ve sought at every step to engender the cross-party consensus that I believe to be essential for major long-term infrastructure projects to proceed. However, you also need to have a robust plan. Alas, I see the Tories are still committed to connecting Leeds via Manchester rather than via the East Midlands and Sheffield as Labour would. The Tory proposal makes no sense in economic or transport terms and is strongly opposed in the East Midlands and Yorkshire - as I experienced for myself in Leeds and Sheffield yesterday. This is for a very good reason: Leeds to London via Manchester saves little time on the existing Leeds-London service. It also puts Leeds at a serious disadvantage to Manchester and offers nothing whatever to the big populations and economic centres of Sheffield and the East Midlands. Labour’s scheme is much better, and is recognised as such by all the cities concerned.

On aviation, this was always going to be a test of whether the Tories are thinking seriously as a potential government, or solely as an opposition. On this evidence the answer is the latter. Having accepted that air travel is essential for our economy and families they then fudge completely what they’d do to address the fundamental fact here - that our key airport, Heathrow, is full and millions of jobs, business and citizens depend upon allowing it to expand, on a properly controlled basis, as Labour proposes. Saying that Heathrow should be ‘better not bigger’ is just fatuous. There’s no bigger enthusiast for high speed rail than me, but it’s simply not the answer to a lack of airport capacity at Heathrow, where domestic flights which could be replaced by high speed rail account for a tiny (and declining) proportion of traffic. In our manifesto yesterday Labour ruled out additional runways at any airport other than Heathrow. I see the Tories say they will block expansion plans at Gatwick and Stansted but make no mention of anywhere else - such as Boris Johnson’s ill-conceived plans for a new 6 runway airport in the Thames Estuary. Is this the Tories secret agenda? Or Manston in Kent? Or Luton? The Tories pointedly do not rule out new airport capacity in the south east, so it looks as if the choice in this election is  between Labour being open and honest about an extra runway at Heathrow, and the Tories preparing the way for an extra runway who knows where.

On railways, the Tories say they “support” Crossrail and electrification of the Great Western.  Ok, but voters in London, the West and South Wales need firm dates, not weasel words.  Are the Tories committing here to pressing ahead with the full existing plans to the same timetable? I hope Theresa Villiers, my shadow, will clarify in the coming weeks. These two projects are critical schemes for the UK. But so too are Thameslink, electrification of the lines between Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Blackpool, additional train carriages, and key infrastructure upgrades like Birmingham New Street and Reading station - all of which Labour remains committed to, and none of which the Tories mention. Is this where the Tory axe will fall in their determination to cut spending faster and deeper than Labour would?  

On electric vehicles, I do see signs of an intellectual rationale. Unfortunately, it’s a dangerous one. I believe that the Tories’ dogmatic distaste for state intervention and support would do real damage to our attempts to make Britain a global leader in the use and manufacture of low carbon cars. Companies like Nissan and Ford have committed to investing in cutting edge facilities here in the UK precisely because of the support we have offered - not least in the form of our £400m+ fund to support R&D in the UK, to incentivise consumers to buy new electric cars from next January, and to create a national charging infrastructure. The Tories are completely silent on the first two which, coming off the back of their recent briefings to the sector, suggests they’re for the chop. That’s bad news for those looking to secure green jobs here in the UK as well as bad news for consumers who will be put off buying the new models by the significant additional price they will otherwise sell for. The Tories seem determined to repeat the mistake of the Victorian railway promoters who let a free for all take place without the national coordination and regulation essential for a national service.

On buses, warm words on ‘encouraging partnerships between bus operators and local authorities’ are all very well. But where bus operators continue to let local communities down, then councils should also have stronger contracting powers to determine local services and standards - as they have in London. I experienced this for myself in Yorkshire yesterday where the local Conservative councillors in West Yorkshire are pushing for a ‘Quality Contract’ to deliver improvements and simply can’t understand why their own frontbench is pledging to repeal this option. Neither can the local and regional media. For my part I will continue to work with any local council, of any political persuasion, whose aim is to deliver transport improvements for their inhabitants. Politicians should support the interest of the public, not of big vested interests like the bus operators.