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Local Transport

It is a great pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Reading, East (Mr. Wilson) and other Members who have spoken. The need for the Government to let go has been highlighted in all contributions—not least that of the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody), and the report of the Transport Committee, which she chairs, also makes that clear. That is the consensus across the House; the only Members who do not share it are those on the Government Front Bench. Why? We heard in an earlier debate that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has damaged health by centralising control, and that is also happening with transport. I intend my remarks to be brief—although I realise that Members often say that but fail to deliver. Yorkshire receives significantly lower transport funding than the national average. It is a dynamic area of the country, but many of its areas are in need of regeneration—a fact that Members in all parts of the House have mentioned. Many Members from different parties attended a reception last week at which the case was put for greater funding for Yorkshire. I hope that the Minister heard about that reception, and that she will receive inputs from Members across the political spectrum in support of Yorkshire’s case. If Yorkshire were to receive fair funding—the national average outside London—proper attention could be paid to regenerating the Humber ports, which offer fantastic opportunities for economic and social improvement. If the Government, especially the Treasury, were to sort out their priorities, we would look at several matters, such as the ludicrous Humber bridge charges, which cause great hardship to those who need to access hospital services on the north bank and have a depressing economic effect on the whole region, particularly on the south bank, but on the north bank too. The Exchequer loses vast sums because of that failure of joined-up government. I hope that the Minister will be able to speak to colleagues in the Treasury and put the case, which I know is strongly felt by Members who represent the area, for lowering the charges and writing off some of the debt, which is spiralling and will never be properly repaid by charging to cross the Humber bridge. Fairer funding would also, and more directly, give the opportunity to revisit the issue of the Beverley to York railway line, and indeed that of the whole corridor from Hull to York, which could play an important role in the regeneration of Hull and allow us to capitalise on the contribution that the Humber ports make to the country as a whole. I pay tribute to the Minsters’ Rail Campaign. It has for many years been chaired by my Labour opponent at the last general election, George McManus, who has persisted in pushing the case of the Minsters’ Rail Campaign to reopen the Beverley to York railway line. The East Riding is an economically successful area of the country. It is fortunate in having a Conservative-led council that has the highest financial management rating in the country and is graded as excellent in its ability to implement transport schemes. Will the Minister consider the Beverley to York railway line? Will the Minister also consider the need to upgrade the A1079, on which there have been 16 deaths in five years and hundreds of casualties? I am grateful to her for meeting the right hon. Member for East Yorkshire (Mr. Knight) and me to discuss that issue. The road goes from Hull to York and is vital for businesses and economic activity. Its current condition leads to substantial safety considerations. The Minister has agreed that her officials will work with our local authority in any way that they can to help it to get the best possible bid and to consider properly any bid that comes in. I know that people in Beverley, Holderness, Hull and York and all the areas in between look forward to that road being seriously improved to the benefit of the whole area. The theme of the debate so far has been the recognition that centralisation is not working and that we need innovation. There is no point in having a highly centralised innovation fund and falsely presenting it to the House as something that will create new ideas locally. It turns out that the fund will be even more centralised than current funding and can be used only to implement Government policy. The Chancellor’s obsessive centralisation is damaging health delivery, as we have heard, and is also damaging the implementation of transport strategies. People in Yorkshire are browned off about health and transport; motorists and rail passengers are also browned off. It is time for a change. It is time for transport that works to be delivered through local ideas, control and leadership. That seems to be a common theme across the House. I hope that the Minister will announce a U-turn in Government attitude.