Speeches by Mayer.

“If, from July 2024, the railway was for growth, jobs and homes, what do you think it was for before?”

“How much would you say that the issues at the core of this inquiry stem from a lack of long-term vision for the railway in this country?”

“Finally, Sir Andrew Haines told us that he thought that the RNEP is “a flawed proposition” because it is owned politically and therefore subject to shifting political priorities. Would you agree with that?”

“I am pleased to hear that my hon. Friend gets to visit lots of primary schools. During the debate I have heard about so many schools all over the country. However, the people of Bidwell West, in my constituency, are still waiting for a primary school. It was promised in plans and brochures when they were buying their n…”

“Going back to the Olympics being the exemplar of a successful project, that had a very hard deadline. Is one of the problems with these projects that they do not?”

“Third time lucky? What are we doing differently?”

“Mr Wild, HS2 Ltd was heavily criticised by the Secretary of State for providing a revised plan for Euston station that was supposed to be more affordable, but in reality was £400 million more expensive than the previous plan. Can you give any insight into how that might have happened?”

“The Stewart review states: “In my opinion there is a history of gold-plating in railway projects in the UK, especially compared to international benchmarks.” Is this a culture that you recognise? Are people still coming to you prioritising best over affordable?”

“Shall I ask that, then? The next stage of HS2’s construction is moving from the civil engineering stage towards railway systems and integrating with the national network. How are you drawing on your experience at Crossrail to ensure that this stage is going to be a success?”

“I welcome that, through Best Start, Central Bedfordshire is getting funding for a family hub for the first time. Will the Secretary of State explain how this will be linked to areas of deprivation and urge the independent council to look closely at the statistics that show that places such as Dunstable and Houghton Reg…”

“Absolutely. We have heard a lot about partnership, predominantly from the previous panel as well as from you. Partnership always sounds brilliant as a concept, but it involves people agreeing with each other. Is there a danger that, as we go further down that model with the reforms that are coming in of giving more str…”

“Do you think there is any danger that you might, sort of, be treated as a bank? The Government do not have enough money to do one thing or another, so they come to the mayoral combined authority to top it up.”

“At present do you feel that there is clear accountability between mayoral combined authorities and Network Rail, in terms of delivering enhancements?”

“No, don’t worry. Liz, you said earlier that one of your main objectives was to get more people on to trains and grow the revenue. Just so that I understand: who is getting that revenue at the moment? Who gets the money from the tickets?”

“I am a great fan of passenger transport executives, being probably the only MP who ever referenced them in their maiden speech.”

“How do we square the circle of the sector wanting certainty for investment while projects have to go through many stages of development between them first being announced and confirmed and spades in the ground?”

“I thank the Backbench Business Committee for allowing this debate to take place. I very much welcome the investment in transport—especially public transport—in the spending review. The commitment is really clear; for example, there is £2.3 billion for the local transport grant, which will support local transport improv…”

“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I know she is normally a champion for trains in her constituency, so I welcome her branching out into buses. The Campaign for Better Transport says that £1 of investment in buses brings £4.55 in benefits, and I am absolutely up for that. While we are on the subject of better buse…”

“Stephen, you said earlier that there was a lack of cross-party consensus, and we have heard evidence about the need for more public support for investments, to help to insulate a pipeline from political changes. How might that look? How do you make it happen?”

“Is there really a lack of political consensus? East-west rail has been talked about since before the millennium. Twenty-five years ago groups of local authorities came together to say they wanted it, and in 2011 the Government backed it. We have been through loads of different types of Government. It is still sort of t…”