MP urges Grayling to disregard ‘bias’
At least one Tory MP does get it
TRANSPORT: A Tory rising star has suggested Transport Secretary Chris Grayling should avoid falling victim to Whitehall “bias” against the North and press ahead with plans to electrify the a key section of the cross-Pennine railway.
MP Neil O’Brien said London has had massive investment in transport despite being richer.
A TORY rising star has suggested Transport Secretary Chris Grayling should avoid falling victim to Whitehall “bias” against the North and press ahead with plans to electrify the a key section of the cross-Pennine railway.
Huddersfield-born MP Neil O’Brien, a former Treasury and Number 10 special adviser, said London has had massive investment in transport relative to the North despite being richer.
And he suggested the electrification of the TransPennine rail route between Leeds and Manchester should go ahead as part of plans to develop high-speed rail across the North.
Mr O’Brien opposed Mr Grayling’s decision to cancel the electrification of the Midland Main Line which serves his Harborough constituency.
Mr Grayling has failed to deny recent reports that he is set to similarly cancel planned electrification across the Pennines. But Mr O’Brien told The Yorkshire Post: “Ultimately people want to see good, regular, reliable services.
“There are a lot of advantages in electrification. I’m not close to where things are at with TransPennine but I would say that most of the country seems to have electrified their systems.”
He added: “London has done very well over time as well. In fact London has got higher public spending per head despite the fact it’s a lot richer than the rest of the country. So I think there is a case for trying to make some of those big investments; I think things like both electrification and efforts to develop high-speed rail east to west are important.”
Mr O’Brien, who was an adviser to former Chancellor George Osborne, also recalled the difficulties in securing investment in northern transport in Whitehall.
The Government in 2015 was forced to issue a written ministerial direction to scrap infamous Pacer trains on northern rail networks, as officials would not sign it off after cost-benefit analysis.
Mr O’Brien said: “If those trains had been in the South there wouldn’t have been a discussion, officials would have signed it off.
“There is a problem about all decisions being made in this very small part of the world – civil servants are great, a lot of brilliant people, but they are mainly young, London-based 20- and 30-somethings who have got a particular view of the world, so devolution and a strong agenda to rebalance the economy are quite a useful antidote to that naturally occurring bias.”
A Department for Transport spokesman highlighted the £3bn planned TransPennine upgrades but did not commit to electrification.
He added: “Every decision we make is based on a robust and unbiased appraisal system.
“The next few years will actually see higher government spending in the North, compared to the South.”
London has got higher spending per head despite being richer Neil O’Brien, Conservative MP for Harborough on Whitehall investment plans for rail.
AT LAST a Yorkshire-born Conservative MP who sees sense over transport. Neil O’Brien, a former Treasury and 10 Downing Street special adviser, says in today’s newspaper that “ultimately people want to see good, regular, reliable services”.
An opponent of Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s controversial plans to downgrade the electrification of the Midland Main Line and trans-Pennine routes, he says, there’s a “naturally occurring bias” in Whitehall in favour of the capital because it’s staffed by “mainly young, London-based 20- and 30-somethings who have got a particular view of the world”. The regret is Mr O’Brien, born in Huddersfield, represents a Leicestershire seat – and not one from his home county where such sage wisdom could do so much good.