Transport on the agenda at party conferencesItem Added 10 October 2008Transport was a key topic at all three main party conferences in September, with road user charging and public transport investment being the focus of debates.
Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat transport representatives all set out new initiatives at their autumn party conferences. Highlights from each conference are below.
Labour Conference
Ruth Kelly’s speech to conference was overshadowed by her announcement that she would be resigning from Government. In her last speech in her role as Secretary of State she reminded delegates of the huge investment poured into public transport under the Labour government.
She then committed her party very publicly to the Crossrail project and to the development of Birmingham New Street station. Now it is up to her successor, Geoff Hoon, a former Chief Whip and Defence Secretary and son and grandson of railwaymen, to fulfill her pledges.
The Cabinet reshuffle led to key changes at the top of the Transport Department; Jim Fitzpatrick MP is the only Minister to have survived. The full Transport team is now:
- Secretary of State - Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP
- Minister of State - Lord Adonis
- Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Jim Fitzpatrick MP
- Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Paul Clark MP
Liberal Democrat Conference
The Liberal Democrat Conference is unusual in that delegates actually make decisions on party policy. It was therefore with a degree of nervousness that the party’s Transport team put forward their plans to transform Britain’s transport system.
Norman Baker MP, well-known in Parliament for his tenacious campaigning activities, proposed:
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A high speed rail network to the North of England and Scotland,
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More investment in research to support a national road pricing scheme for all lorries
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A domestic flight surcharge
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Increasing the power of local authorities to control bus services.
Of particular relevance to the SPARKS Programme is his intention to phase out Vehicle Excise Duty and replace it with revenue-neutral motorway and trunk road pricing.
Much to the surprise of most commentators, the plan was passed without amendment by conference delegates.
Conservative Conference
The Conservative transport team had an extremely busy time at Conference speaking at many fringe meetings and outlining a policy that hit the headlines outside Birmingham.
The main policy announcement was that the Conservatives would vote against any Heathrow runway expansion in favour of linking the UK with a new high speed rail infrastructure, to be completed by 2027. This was an attempt to vindicate the "Vote Blue Go Green" party mantra and played well beyond the Conference.
The Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers MP emphasised that an attractive and viable alternative to cars has to be in place before government can reduce congestion in cities and the number of short-haul polluting flights.
Transport Infrastructure Funding (TIF) money is high on the priority list for the Conservatives, who wish to see this pot of money used differently. Stephen Hammond MP, Shadow Rail Minister described a situation where the TIF could be used as a carrot to attract imaginative bids to reduce congestion in urban areas and not used as a stick to "beat cities over the head for road user and congestion charging."
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