Speeches by Alexander.

“I would be very happy to ask the rail Minister to meet my hon. Friend to have that discussion. One of the other biggest concerns of passengers is the baffling array of fares and ticketing, which is why GBR will drag the current complex system into the 21st century. A new GBR website and app will allow passengers to buy…”

“I am very keen to maintain the excellent standards of safety on the railways. If we do not, I will be failing in my responsibility as Secretary of State. I am aware of the recommendations that the right hon. Lady refers to. The ORR, as one regulator, provides coherence, but if she writes to me, setting out her case in …”

“My hon. Friend makes a compelling case, which has also been put to me by Mayor Tracy Brabin and the leader of Bradford council, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe. I hope to say more about improving connectivity in the north of England in the weeks and months ahead.”

“I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. Two centuries ago, the first passenger railway services to run in the UK symbolised the hope and ambition of a confident nation, yet today that same railway symbolises something rather different. Every cancelled service, every cramped carriage and every dodgy wi-f…”

“I will give way, and then I will make some progress.”

“The passenger watchdog will be able to look at patterns, and will have the power to compel GBR and operators to provide information to it, and it can make recommendations to the ORR for enforcement. If our constituents have been failed by passenger assistance, if their trains are always delayed, or if they experience s…”

“The hon. Lady is right to say that South Western Railway had a difficult few months after it came into public ownership, but the problems that it is experiencing were inherited from the private sector operator. The number of new Arterio trains on the South Western Railway network has quadrupled since the train operatin…”

“In the interests of time, I will not give way. It is because we understand what life is like for ordinary people that we have taken decisions in this Budget to provide real help with the cost of living. We know that an average household spends more than 10% of its income on getting around, getting to work and school, a…”

“I am not going to give way. Budgets are about choices, and I know that not everyone agrees with our decision to freeze rail fares. Indeed, just days before the Budget, I received a letter from the shadow Transport Secretary effectively proposing a 4.8% hike in fares. I considered his request, but an increase in line wi…”

“I will certainly undertake to have those conversations with colleagues.”

“It is a privilege to respond to today’s debate on the Budget. We have heard some excellent contributions from many colleagues, particularly those on this side of the House, and I hope my hon. Friends will forgive me if I do not mention them all by name. I will respond in writing to the specific questions put to me by m…”

“I would be happy to ask the Rail Minister to meet the hon. Gentleman to talk about the particular issues around the station that he mentions and to understand what more we could do to properly integrate transport options in that area.”

“I believe that the right hon. Gentleman has met my colleague, the former Minister for the future of roads, my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), where they possibly discussed the A36 bypass around Salisbury. I am happy to meet him and talk to him further about any other ideas that he may ha…”

“This Government are on the side of drivers and are focused on making journeys safer and smoother, and saving motorists money. Over the past year alone, we have invested an extra £500 million in road maintenance, given the green light to over 30 road schemes and committed £650 million to cut the purchase cost of electri…”

“The hon. Gentleman tempts me to divulge conversations that I have had in advance of the Budget. I am sorry to disappoint him, but I am not going to do that. I am acutely aware of the importance that the travelling public place on affordability, and of course I want to find a way to help those who rely on our railways, …”

“If the electric car grant scheme is so unpopular, why have 30,000 people availed themselves of it since its launch in the summer? I am clear that the transition to electric vehicles is a key plank of this Government’s agenda, because of the good jobs it can create and the need to clean up the way we travel.”

“I am interested to hear that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents want to avail themselves of concessions provided by the Labour Mayor of London. The hon. Gentleman will know that Londoners often pay a precept to fund some of the entitlements they have in London. That is why his constituents, who fall outside the Greater …”

“I am happy to talk to my officials about that particular scheme. If I may, I will come back to the hon. Lady in writing.”

“The right hon. Gentleman really does need to get with the programme. We have seen the best month ever when it comes to sales of EVs and hybrid vehicles. He talks about Ford. In fact, since launching our electric car grant in the summer, over 30,000 drivers have been helped to purchase an EV, including the Ford Puma and…”

“I recently visited Norwich, where business leaders and representatives made the case to me for improvement works at the Ely and Haughley junctions. I am aware of the importance of freight on those lines, given the adjacency to the port of Felixstowe. We have had to take some difficult decisions in this spending review …”