Devizes MP Claire Perry has won promotion in the Prime Minister’s wide-ranging government reshuffle. She will move from her role as an assistant government whip to be Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Transport.
It is not yet clear what her area of responsibility will be in this new role. However, Mrs Perry has been actively involved in the issue of the electrification of the railway line westwards beyond Newbury – where the electrification scheme is currently planned to stop.
She was recently at Pewsey Station talking to early commuters about plans for the line west of Newbury – especially the consultation document for the new Great Western franchise which suggested a favoured option was to provide nothing but feeder services from Bedwyn to Newbury or Reading.
She has also backed the campaign launched by Transition Marlborough for the re-instatement of a rail connection from Bedwyn to Marlborough.
Mrs Perry is also a keen cyclist.
On Twitter the Devizes MP marked her promotion: “I am so looking forward to being part of the DfT team rebuilding Britain’s infrastructure.”
There was delight in Marlborough at Mrs Perry’s promotion in the government reshuffle.
“We are extremely pleased that Claire is now a junior transport minister,” Dr Sam Page, of Transition Marlborough, told Marlborough News Online.
“We hope that she will be able to use her new position to bring us into the 21st century, by ensuring that the direct service between Bedwyn and London Paddington is retained, advancing the electrification of the line between Newbury and Bedwyn, “And also in persuading the Department for Transport to consider seriously our proposal to restore and electrify the rail line to Marlborough.”
So far 380 people have signed up in support of Transition Marlborough’s proposal to restore the First Great Western line to Marlborough, which once had a station of its own.
“And we hope many other people will too,” said Dr Page.
Answering questions at the dispatch box in the House of Commons yesterday (Wednesday), Mrs Perry declared: “Rail services are vital nationally. “As members will be aware, since privatisation the number of passengers on our rail network has doubled, with record numbers of people choosing to travel by train. Indeed, the rail network has not been this busy since the 1920s.
“This is particularly obvious in the north of England, where the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises have far exceeded the original expectations of passenger growth.
“We are now dealing with the challenges of success, with the increase in passenger numbers meaning that we need to provide capacity where it is most needed. That is a key concern.”
She added: “Capacity constraints in the whole region have driven the Government to invest a very welcome £1 billion in electrification projects.
“This programme will see improved services, increased capacity and reduced overcrowding across the north of England over the next five years, allowing for faster trains between the major northern cities and also benefiting freight, which he name-checked as being incredibly important.
“This investment will bring enormous benefits to the area and will complement the £104 million investment specifically for the Humber region that was announced as part of the local growth deal. In researching this today, I was particularly delighted to see that that money includes funding for a number of transport schemes, including funding for the Humber local enterprise partnership to further develop proposals for electrification between Hull and Selby.”
Cricket: Three in a row as Trees topple Trowbridge
