Speeches by Alexander.

“If he wishes to write to me with the specific details of those local issues, I will come back to him.”

“My hon. Friend is a great champion for her constituents. I reviewed her correspondence with the Rail Minister over the summer and was aware that the 8.22 service had been reinstated, but I was not aware of the longer journey times. I would be happy to meet her to discuss that further.”

“Let me congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on his appointment. I know he has experience as a Transport Minister. And, of course, he had extensive experience of travelling the length and breadth of the country before the last election searching for that rarest thing, a Tory safe seat. [Laughter.] On the substantive po…”

“I will talk to the Rail Minister and ask him to meet my hon. Friend. We cannot have a leaking roof in Luton station.”

“We are committed to improving rail connectivity and capacity in the north of England. I would be happy to have a further conversation with the hon. Gentleman about that scheme.”

“I am very aware of the problems relating to Hammersmith bridge, and I know the Minister hosted that first meeting of the resurrected Hammersmith bridge taskforce. I do have some good news for my hon. Friend: we announced in the spending review a structures fund, to assist local authorities with repairs to bridges and t…”

“I can assure my hon. Friend that I have regular meetings with the Mayor of Liverpool city region. I am completely cognisant of the fact that for new towns to be successful, thriving communities, they need public transport built in from the start. Indeed, there is capacity to almost create new towns in existing towns wh…”

“The Government are committed to making Britain a clean energy superpower, which is why we are investing £4.5 billion to support the transition to electric vehicles. That includes £1.4 billion to support the continued uptake of EVs through targeted grants, with 35 models now eligible for discounts of up to £3,750 throug…”

“The Government are investing an unprecedented £15.6 billion in local transport across our city regions, including £1.5 billion for South Yorkshire and £2.1 billion for West Yorkshire, to support the delivery of transport schemes across the region. We have also confirmed £2.3 billion for the local transport grant over t…”

“The previous Government’s neglect of the railways saw a decade of decline in passenger performance, but we are starting to see performance stabilise. Passengers are responding to these improvements, and passenger numbers were up 7% last year. We are now working with the rail industry on a performance restoration framew…”

“I am obviously sorry to hear about the issues that my hon. Friend and her constituents experience when attempting to travel on Avanti West Coast. I know how frustrating these issues can be, but let me reassure her that while performance has improved, officials continue to hold regular meetings with Avanti and Network R…”

“Passengers on LNER will benefit from the new December timetable, which will bring an overall improvement in reliability and capacity, but I would be very happy to ask the Rail Minister to speak to the hon. Gentleman about the particular issues at Berwick-upon-Tweed.”

“I associate myself with the hon. Gentleman’s remarks about the importance of free speech, but I disagree with his assertions about improvements under Great British Railways. Conservative Members know the value of bringing train operating companies into public ownership; they did it themselves when they were in governme…”

“I can assure the hon. Gentleman that I am aware of the Bath and Wiltshire metro scheme and the Devizes gateway project. Although we do not have any plans to take forward those schemes, I encourage local authorities, Great Western Rail and Network rail to continue working together to develop those plans and explore fund…”

“The Government confirmed over £92 billion of capital investment in transport infrastructure at the spending review to drive economic growth and put more money in people’s pockets. That includes £24 billion to improve roads, £15 billion in long-term funding for our largest city regions and £2 billion for local transport…”

“I know that affordability is a top concern for people when it comes to rail. No decisions have been made on next year’s rail fares, but our aim is that prices will balance affordability for travellers with what is fair for taxpayers.”

“Following the sobering recommendations of Baroness Louise Casey in her review on child sexual exploitation, this Government are more committed than ever to tackling this issue. We have committed to legislating to address inconsistency in driver licensing, and we are considering all options, including on out-of-area wor…”

“The hon. Gentleman seems to be suffering a case of amnesia because his party allocated absolutely zero money to fund the bus fare cap beyond December of last year. I know how important affordable bus travel is to the British people, and this Government are determined to deliver it.”

“I was pleased to meet my hon. Friend in the summer to discuss this issue, and she is right to say that the previous Government cancelled plans to upgrade the Brighton main line. I can assure her that my officials are in regular discussion with Network Rail on opportunities to improve services and ease congestion in the…”

“I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend, who—as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on electric vehicles—has great expertise in this area. It is right to acknowledge that the motor industry has faced unprecedented challenges in the last 12 months, so it was right that we responded proportionately by extending th…”