It’s official – the United Kingdom has a new Government, and as predicted by almost every poll since late 2022, it is Labour leader Keir Starmer heading to Downing Street.
New Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accepted the King’s invitation to form a Government, and we wait to see who will be named in his new Cabinet.
A minor reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet may occur, with Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth and Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire both unseated at the Election.
While we await confirmation of the new Transport Secretary, we can nevertheless have a look at the policy they will be tasked with delivering, and what it will mean for the UK’s rail industry.
In a major transformation, the Labour Government will aim to overhaul Britain’s railways by bringing them into public ownership, as existing contracts expire or are broken through a failure to deliver.
Labour’s election manifesto also outlined the improvement of rail connections across the north of England as a regional development priority, and the new Government will look to establish a new National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority to oversee the delivery of projects.
The Authority will bring together existing bodies to set strategic infrastructure priorities, as a solution to the Party’s claim that the current planning regime acts as a break on economic growth.
The new Government will also seek to deliver on its vision for Great British Railways. Labour’s election manifesto had this to say: “Great British Railways will deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality, and efficient services; along with ensuring safety and accessibility.
“It will be responsible for investment, day-to-day operational delivery and innovations and improvements for passengers, working with publicly-owned rail operators in Wales and Scotland.”
Other pre-election pledges included a new, more active role for mayors in the planning and design of local services, and the introduction of a new passenger watchdog.
Meanwhile, Labour has also pledged to promote and grow the use of rail freight, a plan for which they can expect support from the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, who made a similar pledge in their respective manifestos.
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