Labour

Tory cancellation of promised electrification works will lengthen journey times, increase carbon emissions and raise the cost of the rail network

By scrapping the electrification of the TransPennine route, the Tories are essentially pulling the plug on the proposed Crossrail for the Northern Powerhouse project, which could no longer be a fully electrified network.

Cancelling electrification projects around the country will add significantly to journey times:

• Journeys between Manchester and Liverpool will add nearly 30 minutes

•  Journeys between Leeds and Newcastle will add over 20 minutes.

• Cancelling the electrification of the Cardiff to Swansea section of the Great Western Mainline puts at risk the estimated journey time saving between Swansea and London with Super Express trains of 19 minutes.

Labour has made a £10 billion commitment to “Crossrail for the North” to reverse decades of underinvestment in Northern transport infrastructure that has undermined the economic potential of the north of England and help deliver 850,000 new jobs by 2050.

Network Rail estimates that electrification and the running of electric vehicles can help to reduce CO2 emissions by an average of 20 to 30 per cent compared to their diesel counterparts and the maintenance costs for electric trains are 33 per cent lower than for diesel.

Network Rail also estimates that electric passenger vehicles fuel savings are between 19 and 26 pence per vehicle mile.

Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on the findings, said:

“The Government’s disgraceful U-turn on their promise to deliver electrification on the Midland Mainline, Trans-Pennine and Great Western routes will threaten economic growth in areas of England and Wales already suffering from poor connectivity and underinvestment.

“Pulling the plug on electrification shows the Tories’ disregard for Wales and Yorkshire, which will continue to suffer from underinvestment, and proves the ‘Midlands Engine’ and the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ are just more empty slogans from this Government.

“The Tories are trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes by claiming that diesel bi-mode trains will deliver the same benefits as electrification, despite saying for years that failure to electrify the network costs more in the long run, causes more pollution, worsens air quality, lessens capacity and makes services slower and less reliable.

“Not only will Labour deliver the promised electrification, we will address the imbalance in transport infrastructure spending, committing to building a Crossrail for the North and enhancing and expanding the rail network in order to drive economic growth and rebalance our economy for the many not the few”.

Ends

Richard Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, responding to Government proposals to privatise the collection of court fines, said:

“It is unbelievable that the Government is planning further privatisation to the justice system. 

“The outsourcing of Civil Enforcement Officers will combine weaker oversight with pressure to maximise profits and risks more and more people becoming victim of rogue private bailiffs.

“A previous attempt to privatise all enforcement work was abandoned, but only after the Conservative government had wasted millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money pursuing it. It should not be putting such a flawed idea back on the table.

“From the deep failures in the part-privatised probation system to the scandal surrounding G4S tagging contracts, the Conservative Government’s obsession with privatisation is at the expense of delivering a fair justice system that works for all.”

Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to reports in the Times that the Chancellor is considering to again extend the time until he balances the books until 2027, said:

“If these reports are true, it demonstrates once again that this Tory Government is economically inept and would have failed to meet every fiscal target they have set themselves.

“It also suggests that the Chancellor has had to break cover once more to brief the press that he will fail to meet his own target for balancing the books in a bid to get his excuses in early ahead of the Autumn Budget later this year.

“Only a Labour Government will provide the investment our economy needs, underpinned by our Fiscal Credibility Rule, in order to balance the books and build the high wage, high skill jobs of the future.”

Alan Whitehead MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change, commenting on the announcement that British Gas will increase its prices, said:

“Today’s announcement shows that the Conservative Government has still not got a grip on the broken energy market, with companies raising prices yet again.

“This is why we need a Labour Government to radically transform the energy market, bring down energy bills and transition to a low carbon future.

“At the very least the Conservatives should institute the energy price cap which Theresa May promised during the campaign.”

Liz McInnes, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Minister, responding to the outcome of the election in Venezuela, said:

“We mourn all those who have been killed and injured in the protests leading up to this election, and we urge everyone in Venezuela, on all sides, to end the bloodshed immediately.

“In particular, we urge the government of Venezuela to recognise its responsibilities to protect human rights, free speech and the rule of law. The outcome of this election cannot be treated as a mandate for a further escalation of repression, division, and violence.

“President Maduro must also respond personally to the legitimate concerns of the international community about the increasingly authoritarian nature of his rule and the growing hardship facing his people.

“If he believes those concerns are misplaced, it is up to him to prove them wrong, not through his words, but through his deeds.”